End of an Empire
by Leasia
Summary: Star Wars story set far into the future. Ri Marek and Klayton were once best friends in an orphanage but torn apart by war and placed on opposite sides, they meet again years later on Yavin 4. Klayton makes a decision that changes his future forever. Ri's visions of the future place her in danger from everyone and the reluctant ex-Sith becomes her guardian.
1. Chapter 1

_"Ri."_

He tasted the name, savoring how it sounded to his own ears. _She was here._

The connection between them was forged years ago in their childhood. Before her betrayal. Just saying her name generated the feelings of anger. The Sith Lord told himself repeatedly that one day he would have his revenge. It was one of his greatest desires, one of the many situations he hoped to rectify.

Maybe today...

He ignored the uneasiness he felt. _It's just a memory._ The desire for revenge burned strong in him, as it should in any Sith Lord. But the feeling of wrong shouldn't have accompanied it. He could not escape it. The sensations were intertwined permeating the flip side of his desire to see her dead. That was not as it should be.

"Ri." He whispered the name again out loud. Just to show himself it had no power over him. That she had no power over him. He would exact his revenge on her one way or another. He moved forward, taking the point, his master following behind.

 _Ri._

Her eyes shot open. The future came often to her, even when she did not want to see it. She couldn't see his face, but she knew who he was. Who he had been at least. He was still out there. _Why here of all places did this vision come to me?_

And she had sworn to find him, or die trying. _Probably the latter_ , she thought to herself. She glanced around. She'd only stopped for a moment of rest and attempting to get her bearings. Her hand gripped her light saber like a life line. She moved silently, her ears listening, scrutinizing every crackle on the ground. She was here on a mission that had nothing to do with him.

The lush vegetation covered a landscape of ancient temples. The builders were long forgotten. But Yavin 4 was still famous for the many battles that scarred its surface. Its history as almost as well documented as the central world, Coruscant. She'd been forced to learn that history, meticulously. Any Jedi could quote the Republic's history, more specifically the Jedi's part in it.

Rí Marek, was simply taking part in the latest conflict between the Sith and Jedi, the dark and the light. A new Empire dedicated to the Dark side of the Force had arisen outside the Galactic Republic. Naturally, the Jedi were against the Sith as they had chosen to name themselves on any terms. But the Republic after years of war wanted to talk. They had even invited the representatives of the Sith Empire to have a seat on the Republic's Council.

None of that mattered to Rí. She'd come from the Outer Rim. The Sith Empire had been in her back yard for her entire childhood. Politics were not her forte. She was disinclined to believe anything the Sith Empire presented. Her prejudices stemming from years growing up enduring raids, the death of family members and the loss of friends, and battles fought all over her world.

Naturally, she had volunteered to investigate a Sith presence on Yavin 4. It was as close as she could come as a Jedi to admitting she wanted revenge. Revenge was not supposed to be a Jedi feeling. But Ri understood that it didn't make the want for revenge go away. Even clothed in the ideals of justice, she wanted to hit back at those who had taken so much from her. Which was how she'd come to be trailing through the Jungles of Yavin 4, scouting alone.

Her long dark hair was pulled back in a braid that ran down her back and was streaked with blue. Three matching blue lines were tattooed downward over her right eye and down her cheek. It was one of the few customs she brought from her home world of Dagelos. The tattooed lines represented a warrior who had passed their training, one who would guard the King or Queen of their world. As Dagelos no longer had a royal family, Ri wanted some sort of tradition to hold to. Something that screamed she was from Dagelos and the Sith had not crushed them underfoot.

Battle was her escape from the tedium of Coruscant. While she hated unnecessary death, she loved to fight. During the battle, her mind would clear and fighting was her sole purpose. She was a true Dageli, their culture had been a warrior based society. At least it had been until the world's annexation into the Republic two generations ago.

And if the Sith Empire wanted to skirmish along the Outer Rim worlds while the center played politics? So be it. Ri didn't mind, even knowing she was skirting the dark side with her thoughts. With the political bickering that happened even in the Jedi Temple as well as the Senate, no one was taking the time to warn one Jedi Knight that they shouldn't get excited to fight Sith.

There were a few Sith on the ground among the ruins here. Mostly their droids crawled over the surface. The buildings already long scarred from centuries of warfare.

 _And here we are again. Always moving in circles, always repeating the same mistakes, never learning from the past._

The droid came out of nowhere.

She paused her forward momentum to slice it neatly in two. It had been rolled into a ball, but upright it would have moved swiftly on three legs and presented with a shield that she would have had to disable to cause it some damage. But on the move, they couldn't pull up the shield. Ri shrugged off the destroyed battle droid. Worst design flaw ever.

Blood spotted her brown robe, there were three dead Sith acolytes behind her already. Rí knew the fight would be won if her former master met her on the other side of the gully.

Rí had been scouting when the attack on their group came. There were ten Jedi at the main camp. They had managed to send a message and then radio silence. The silence made her uneasy. She pushed away everything else to move towards the meeting point.

An unregistered ship had landed on the planet. It failed to answer the hails of the locals. It hadn't even landed at their space port. Alarmed they asked for the Jedi to investigate.

No mention of droids had been reported. _They should have thought of it,_ Rí thought. _They're Sith._

But that didn't matter now. Survival was all that mattered. Getting back to the others. Rí was good at survival.

She stepped out into a clearing to see a black clad man. He looked as if he were listening, but Rí could sense he was scanning the area with the Force. He was good at hiding his presence. Rí hadn't noticed him before setting eyes on him.

For some reason, he hadn't sensed her either. It meant he was potentially more than just an alcolyte.

She gave a quick scan of the clearing and not seeing anyone else she moved forward.

The man pivoted realizing he wasn't alone. He gave a start of surprise when he laid eyes on her. He had shoulder length blonde hair and brown eyes with more than few scars on his face. He hissed and immediately drew his saber.

The air seemed to thicken as both drew on their respective sides of the Force.

Whether he was an apprentice or the Master she would soon find out.

He moved towards her, his steps slow and deliberate as he studied her. "And to whom do I owe this honor?"

"Honor is for those who die nobly, Sith," Rí said to gauge his response. Rí made no move towards him, not yet. She wanted to see what he would do first. She preferred to always let her enemy make the first move. It gave her time to study their actions.

"Well said, Jedi." He charged towards her swinging his red saber in a violent circle. She drew her light saber catching his blade on its downward arc.

Rí immediately recognized the Juyo forms she had studied on Coruscant. They were quick and designed to bring down an opponent in short order. His next moves would be to corner and confuse her.

They would have if Rí herself had not trained for years in Vaapad, a variant created by a Jedi over a millennium ago. Vaapad was considered too close to the dark side. Forbidden to most Jedi except a few Jedi Knights known as Guardians, it was passed down only to a few.

He rushed swinging his saber wildly. She gave ground he sought before moving into Soresu. Moving into Soresu she would conserve energy and shift into a more defensive fighting technique. She danced nimbly side to side outside of his strike zone, blocking and parrying, allowing the Sith to wear himself out.

After a few moments, Rí noticed his swings growing sluggish. She moved in closer to take advantage of a gap when one wild swing sliced into her robe. She smelled the burned fabric long before she saw it. She flipped backwards away from him landing nimbly on her feet.

His grin was malicious.

"Still not first blood." Rí responded managing a tight smile. She'd been over confident in controlling the fight. A costly mistake on her part.

He was breathing hard. Rí knew immediately this fight needed to be over before anyone else arrived. He had more stamina than she did. He would outlast her in an all-out brawl.

She attacked, whirling and spinning, her own saber a blue blur as she moved into his reach. It was difficult to move over the terrain but she managed to back him into a tree. His back hit and he paused leaving an opening. Rí sliced into his left arm horizontally, slicing the muscle and bone. The arm flopped, useless. Just a little closer and she could have made a clean cut. More blood patterned the ground.

His surprised pleased her in a way it shouldn't have. But she allowed herself a moment of pleasure at the look on his face. A smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth.

She was about to strike a killing blow when something pulsed in the back of her mind. A presence she hadn't sensed in over twenty years. In her shock, she backed up and tripped over a root, landing hard on her side. Her saber clicking off as she went down.

 _Ri._

 _Not again..._

The Sith readily took advantage of the moment, advancing on her with his good arm swinging. Rí cursed and was forced to scramble away on her back as he stumbled towards her. He raised the saber and plunged it into her chest.

"Am I not to know the name of the Jedi Knight I just killed?" He spoke into her face.

She was shaking beneath him, from what he had assumed was a death blow. "If you killed one," She gasped. "Maybe."

He turned his eyes down towards her chest and saw his own light saber protruding Right into her hand. But not out of the other side into her body. She was shaking with the effort it took to absorb that much energy. She wouldn't be able to maintain it forever.

His eyes widened in surprise. "What are you?"

His eyes widened as the snap hiss of Rí's light saber stabbing through his chest ended his questions. His light saber fell from his fingers and the red blade died. He collapsed to the side his eyes opened wide in death as a sigh escaped his mouth.

Rí gasped as she felt the energy fade away and she could release. It was as if she'd been holding her breath underwater, had broken the surface and could breathe again.

"Rí," She muttered to the corpse. "Not that you'll tell anyone."

 _Stupid, we could have at least questioned him on what they were doing out there_. She berated herself and then stared down at her robes.

Bloodstains covered the front. A small slice into her waist that could have ended her. Something had broken her concentration.

She paused trying to figure out what had happened. Her steps had been perfect until that presence. The presence was still there in the back of her mind. It was as if someone had shoved a ball inside her head and it was radiating pressure.

 _No, not pressure._

 _Emotions._

Abandoning her original intent to meet back up with the rest of her party she moved away in the direction that the presence felt strongest in.

The metallic tang of blood drifted in the thick air. Rí's fingers drifted across the vine covered wall as she moved. The end of the battle had come and yet she felt the Force shift inside of her. This way... She ignored the heat, the smells, everything as the Force pulled her. Training drilled into her since childhood told her to listen to her feelings.

It was him. It had to be. He was here.

 _Klayton?_ His presence was unmistakable.

She was now 33 standard years old. Every encounter she had with the Sith she would reach out for him. But he had never felt this close before, and the only explanation was that they were finally on the same world.

Her connection with him was strong. It had always been strong. Even as children they'd always been able to reach out mentally to one another.

The link exploded with emotions, something she hadn't experienced since childhood. She wondered if that meant he was paying as much attention to her as she was to him. That gave her pause even as she wanted to continue rushing forward. What would he see? What would they say to one another? Guilt pulsated through Rí as she roughly forced the memories away.

Almost moving blindly, no longer paying attention to her surroundings she followed. Allowing the link to be her guide.

The link felt alive, emotional... Angry. Close... She closed her eyes and focused.

She never remembered Klayton as being angry. But it had been twenty-two years.

Without taking thought on what she was doing she began to run. Leaves slapped at her face as she moved quickly, her feet pounding on the ground, her heart pounding in her chest matching the rhythm.

Suddenly she skidded to a stop. The Force was tugging at her...and another one of her gifts began manifesting.

"No, not now...," she groaned.

The one she never shared with anyone...except for him. He knew.

The vision hit her before she could completely stop moving and she fell to her knees in the dirt.

 _The man was in front of her in an instant. He had red and black hair, was dressed in black and his hardened expression told her everything she needed to know about his intentions. His red saber clicked off as he reached for her throat. She didn't move and was suddenly horrified that this man should be familiar to her somehow._

 _"Have you come to kill me?" He got out..._

And the vision left her abruptly. Rí found herself panting, on her knees, surrounded by green jungle. The sun was going down swiftly. Her gift or her curse as she thought of it was a connection that allowed her to see the future.

She pondered what the vision meant as she forced herself to her feet and moved forward again.

The gift was so rare that any Jedi found to have it was locked into the Temple of the Prophets on Coruscant for the rest of their days.

For their own protection, of course.

Ri had never told anyone about it. It managed to conceal itself from others as if it had a mind of its the reason it never manifested in the presence of others. At night she would dream, no one would hear her. Another reason she hated to be on Coruscant.

She continued an even pace that she could maintain for hours, the Force augmenting her steps as she moved. The link tugged her south towards the smaller of the Temples. She tried to remember what was there but couldn't pick it out of her thoughts.

The vegetation opened into a clearing. The Force pulled her eyes upwards.

He was standing on top of a rocky outcrop red saber in hand brown eyes scanning around wildly. His bright red and black hair pulled to the Right contrasted so much with his black clothes and cape that swirled around him.

Rí gave a short laugh of recognition and disbelief.

It was him.

And he was a Sith.


	2. Chapter 2

Rí stopped at the base of the ruins and stared, unable to form a coherent thought.

The vision she'd a had a moment ago, she couldn't believe she hadn't recognized him. His hair of course would have seemed odd anywhere else. The bright red mohawk was a signature hair style worn on Dagelos.

He glanced in her direction. The dark brown eyes that used to be so warm with laughter were cold and unreadable.

Their gazes locked. In that moment, she knew that he had been drawn here just as she had.

"Klayton?" It was an audible voice to her thoughts that brought on a storm of emotion.

She had not expected him to be a Sith. The enemy...

The link they shared suddenly felt white, hot, and angry. It burned like a firebrand. Both of them put a hand to their temples and grimaced, as they stared at each other.

She held out both of her hands in what she hoped was a submissive gesture.

"Klayton...I..." She wasn't sure what to say. It's been a long time certainly didn't cut it. He stared at her but so far had remained silent. The anger took her breathe away.

When they were children they had at first marveled at the connection they shared. Making a game of it, never sharing the ability with anyone else. But now as two full grown adults in close proximity she could feel his awareness of her as if she were inside of him. Briefly she knew he was experiencing the same. In a moment she was aware of every breathe he took, every heartbeat, every sensation he was feeling.

 _Rage._

Then it was as if he'd slammed a door shut between them. It cut off. But not entirely, he couldn't block her out completely, it was as if he'd muted himself against her. Like hearing the muffled sounds in the next room through the closed door.

 _I can't fight him. I owe him my life._ Every battle she'd been through had not prepared her for this possibility.

He ignited his light saber and leaped down from the rocky surface until he was level with her. His impact sent dust flying up between them. The light from the sun was slipping steadily beyond the horizon. She cast a long shadow at his feet.

She took a step back as he advanced on her, a single tear slipping down her cheek. He paused when he saw it. Uncertainty suddenly crossed to her from their connection. She was amazed that with all the hate and anger he was feeling he had not severed their link years ago.

"Have you come to kill me?" He snarled the question at her. Rí understood the anger, it was more than just anger. He felt betrayed. She had shown up as the enemy. His enemy.

This was not how she had pictured finding him. She'd always thought of him as a slave, it never occurred to her that he would become a Sith. He'd had such faith in the Jedi when they were younger. They'd spent hours talking about it. The Jedi would rescue them, guard their world. It never happened until it was too late.

Still if it wasn't for him, she would have been in his place.

That thought alone made her do what to anyone else seemed like madness.

She watched him tense as she pulled her light saber from her belt. Her hands trembled as she opened her fingers and the light saber dropped hitting the dirt with a thud.

Surprise radiated from him before he smothered it again and in one smooth moment her light saber sailed through the air and was in his hand.

"Kill her Lord Aden," a new voice came from above. Another Sith dressed in black stood above them. Rí guessed this was his Master. Klayton flinched but said nothing as his eyes flicked back from the light saber to Rí again.

"You see what she is now, what she has become." He continued. "Give her what she deserves."

Lord Aden stared at Rí. He took in every detail. Her long dark braided hair, with the blue strands that painfully reminded him of home. The brown Jedi robe covered in dirt and blood, holes sliced into it, she'd been in a fight recently. Blue eyes that were wide with shock and anguish. He briefly wondered how he appeared to her, considering her shock and then dismissed it. It didn't matter. He had one duty here. One.

He had known Ri would be a Jedi. Counted on it, thinking it would be easier to kill her and be done with this part of his life. It wasn't and that was a problem. Severing his old ties was the only way to move forward in his world. A sign that you were committed to the ways of the Sith, and would walk their path no matter what or who opposed you. Ri Marek, the only living person in the entire universe he'd cared about, also the only person standing in his way.

He had forgotten how much they connected when they were younger. Almost moving as one because they'd found a way to connect mentally, hearing each other's thoughts before they were spoken. Being dragged away from her had been painful, not as painful as his discovery of her betrayal. Their proximity had thrown open the door wide to their link.

He was experiencing her surprise and shock like it was his own.

And... _I need to end this_ , he thought as a trickle of panic bled through. Now was not the time to have doubts! Definitely not the time for second thoughts. There could be no other reason for them both to be here. Fate, if such a thing existed and he truly doubted it, had brought her here on a silver platter. He had both light sabers in his hands. She had given hers up easily enough.

 _Did she expect mercy?_

He could give her a quick death. His own consciousness was against him, they'd been too close once. She had been his childhood friend. With her death, his training would be complete and he could leave Master Degan and take his homeworld to rule.

There were always more Jedi to kill as the Sith pushed into the Galactic Republic. The people bickering against themselves never seeing the real enemy until he was at their gates. Or worse they were opening the doors and letting them in. The Sith had seat at the table on the senate. It was like a ripe fruit ready to be plucked by someone who took the initiative. He was more than ready for such a conquest.

He had made the mistake of mentioning Rí once to his master as a child when he was first taken. What he thought was something he could use to defy Degan became the tool that Degan pounded him with. She would betray him. Degan made sure he knew Jedi were the enemy.

Slowly the boy that had saved Rí made way for the man who had believed she deserved death...

And yet by dropping her light saber she seemed more than willing to take what she deserved.

His hands shook as he sensed her own thoughts pushing through. _I owe her nothing._

None of it made sense. He could hear his heart beat loudly in his chest and he could feel hers. _Just kill her and walk away. It's all I have to do._

He wanted more than that though. If she had plotted to kill him, after he _saved_ her life, she had betrayed him. He wanted her to suffer. He had ways of making her suffer...

He reached out to her mentally, first he prodded the edges of a mental shield he found around her mind. As he reached out to her, he walked toward her, admiring her courage, as she didn't back away. She stiffened at his approach but that was all.

He wanted to see her guilt. Hold it in his hand as undeniable proof. The need to know the truth became overwhelming.

 _What if..._

 _What if..._

 _What if...he was wrong?_ It didn't matter. He answered his own question. And then he would destroy her.

Her mental shield simply dropped away as his prodding. _She is weak_. Disgust after everything he was feeling swelled through him. He hooked her light saber to his belt as he came closer, and still she made no move.

He kept his eyes on hers as he reached up and wrapped both hands around Ri's throat. Still she made no move against him.

More tears came then but he ignored them. She didn't protest,but she was afraid. She was small enough that he could easily lift her off her feet. No retaliation came as he slammed her into the ground. Not as hard as he could have but hard enough to cause pain. He grimaced as he felt it from her. Killing someone had never felt like this, he'd never tasted their fear or saw himself through their eyes. He'd killed plenty of others, but none that shared a bond so strong that he could literally sense their thoughts.

He sat on top of her stomach pinning her down with his body. His hands still wrapped around her throat. "Have you come to kill me, Ri?" He asked her staring at her steadily. Her blue eyes met his, her small hands gripped his wrists. She shook her head against his charges, she said nothing. She could not have replied now even if she wanted to. He waited a moment for her to draw on the Force to stop him, but she didn't even reach for it.

 _Klayton, don't..._ He heard the mental plea and felt her cut herself off. She didn't vocalize it, she knew he could hear her.

Keeping his face close to hers, he wanted to see every bit of pain he caused. He forced the connection wide open again because he wanted to feel her in pain as well. He was going to read her memories and if she was guilty there was no hiding.

 _And if she isn't?_

 _It didn't matter,_ he told himself. _The outcome will still be the same._

For a brief moment he felt a sensation as if he was falling and the confusion of looking up at himself. He felt a moment of shock at his intense face and then he was past and into her mind, pushing back any thoughts or blocks she might throw up.

It was called mind invasion and he was well practiced at it. He could cause extreme stress with someone's mind simply by tampering with their memories. Extreme pain as well.

Aden ripped in.

There was a wrongness that built up in the back of his mind. Something was calling him to stop this while he could. There would be no turning back if he went too far. He pushed that away. He wanted to see the moment that she turned against him. He had believed it for so long. It had been hammered into him, it must be there.

He imagined himself mentally slashing down the barriers into her innermost being. She managed to drag in enough air to scream. The pain was only in her mind, where it would be the worst. He could feel her struggle to fight against the pain. But still oddly enough not against him. He gasped at the intensity of it, it almost made him quit...choose an easier way for her to die.

Almost.

Her legs kicked uselessly underneath him, but still she did not draw on the Force to throw him away.

He almost stopped again. He had done this many times, but never felt it. What she was feeling, he was sensing also. But he had come this far. Here he could turn her into a vegetable or make her his slave. Whatever he chose. He heard the last thoughts she had... _Klayton... her voice echoed around him as she saw him standing above her..._

Pushing past that he drove further in. Past her training, everything was quite vivid. The intense battle techniques she'd learned. Past her first day on Coruscant, her flight from Dagelos.

He was looking for something specific further back, the last day they had seen each other on Dagelos.

He found it hovering, large like a picture you hung on a wall because you wanted to see it every day. He thought it would be harder to find. Mostly because he no longer remembered that day as the day he'd saved his friend. He remembered it as the day she'd gotten away and left him captured.

It was Rí's last memory of him; as he watched it, his hands loosened in astonishment. His face was still stuck firmly in front of hers when he saw memories she had not shared with anyone else. He was no longer seeing her face.

 _Her vow to save him made in the dirt on Dagelos, THAT day..._

 _Her secret; that she had Force Visions, she could see the Future. He had known since they were children, but she had never told anyone else...because...they would lock her away...she was afraid of being caged._

 _Her mind always returned to that day on Dagelos repeatedly. When she trained, when she fell, she thought about that day and returned instantly to working harder._

 _Her struggle to maintain the rules of the temple, her small attempts at rebelling, her enjoyment of fighting..._

 _Again, and again she returned to the idea of him being alive. She could feel him..._

 _And then finally, I can't fight him, I owe him my life._

 _The dropped light saber..._

 _...Klayton... again they all echoed around swirling, he covered his ears, it was too much to take in, he fled..._

The what if questions that haunted him were answered. The question, what did he do now?The memories were a staggering blow to his reality. How much strength it had taken to not take up her weapons against him even though she was afraid. How much she trusted him not to kill her...

Aden blinked suddenly back in his own mind, and glanced down at Ri seeing her again, for the first time. A strangled gasp came out of his own mouth.

She'd never betrayed him.

Never...

His yanked his hands off her throat and pushed away from her. What had he almost done? He realized she wasn't making a sound.

"Rí!" He pulled her to his chest agonized over the bruising that was forming around her neck. He placed his ear over her mouth listening for something. She dragged in a stuttering breath and he realized with relief she was still alive.

Like him she'd held on to their traditions from home in the hope that someday she would go back. She believed they would go back together. She had marked herself in the style of their world. He gingerly ran his fingers down the blue lines tattooed over the right side of her face. He had not seen marks like them in years. They marked a warrior who had completed their training. It had been years since he'd seen anyone from home. His throat worked as his emotions threatened to overwhelm him.

"Kill her and be done with it, Lord Aden." Degan said again impassively. Aden had forgotten his Master was behind him. "You are letting your emotions get the better of you, dragging it out like this."

 _What if every you thought you knew was wrong?_

He laid Ri down and her eyes fluttered open and focused on him for a moment. Then she turned on her side and vomited. It was a normal reaction to what had just happened to her, and he knew her head would ache for days. Her brain needed time to recuperate.

She turned back to him trying to rise, her eyes fluttered. She collapsed against the ground unconscious. Completely at his mercy.

He thought back to his previous assessment. _She trusted me not to kill her._

"Such is the nature of the beast." Degan moved to stand behind Aden. "Kill her and let's be done with it. This place is lost to us. We need to leave here."

"You lied to me." His voice was low, barely above a whisper. He turned around and faced Degan, studying him meticulously. His hand strayed to his light saber dangling from his belt. He pulled it off.

He had studied under Degan for the past twenty years but he bore no love for the man. Degan had done everything to break him and mold him into a Sith, and for the most part succeeded. He'd also given him a new name: 'Lord Aden.'

At this moment as he faced his Master...

 _Former Master,_ he corrected, he was thinking of himself as Klayton. Not Aden, as he was used to being. Hearing Ri call to him with his old name had startled him. He hadn't known how to respond. His own birth name, he hadn't heard in twenty-two years. It opened something in him. _Because everything else was wrong, but my name...that's right._ He stared at his own black covered hand for a moment, the sight of it filled him with a sudden self loathing. He couldn't understand, _how did I get here? To this point?_ He took a deep breath, his eyes alighting and then focusing on his enemy.

He clicked his light saber on.

"You are finally going to challenge me?" Degan sounded surprised. It was common practice before for an Apprentice to offer up the challenge to the Master. It had been forbidden by the council of Brethren recently because of the War against the Jedi. They wanted to keep their numbers high. But it wasn't uncommon and at times defective leaders were replaced by their apprentices without a word.

It was a mostly ideological war. The Galactic Republic thus far had stayed neutral, even as the Jedi battled the Sith on the edges of their realm. The sith retained a seat, money changed hands, a few deaths were over looked.

Degan eyed him and clicked his own light saber on.

"I suppose this was going to happen eventually Aden."

"Actually, it's Klayton." He tasted the sound of his name. It thrilled and terrified him at the same time. But it was his. He felt like a mask had been removed, something had fallen from him that was there before.

Degan looked at him in surprise. "You would betray us for the Jedi?"

"No, not the Jedi. Just her." Klayton couldn't help the shudder of revulsion that pulsed through him at the thought of helping a Jedi. He wasn't shedding that much of his identity.

There was a pause as each took the measure of the other. The air grew still and tense.

Degan attacked first swinging his light saber down in a swinging arc. Klayton sidestepped and used a kinetic shove to knock Degan off balance. It did not push Degan as far as he had hoped and they circled each other warily.

Degan had two decades of experience on Klayton, even if Klayton had a very strong connection to the Force. Klayton was younger and faster. Degan was more experienced. He never attempted a battle he was uncertain he could win. This one had been thrust on him by his own apprentice.

Klayton's mental abilities with the force were strong and he used that to his advantage now. He probed Degan's mind looking for a way in past the hard shield while simultaneously blocking Degan's thrusts.

They both moved through complicated forms of Juyo, swinging wildly, an aggressive and unpredictable style favored by the Sith. It could overwhelm opponents but left you open to attack.

Again Degan drew an arc down this caught and knicked his arm as he danced away. Blood dripped, and ignored the sting. More was at stake than just his future. Something from Ri's memories...he couldn't put his mind on it in the middle of a fight. He blocked another parry and found himself on the defensive as Degan drove at him, his saber thrusts going for the weaknesses Degan knew he had.

Or, thought he had.

Klayton knew he looked calm, but inside he was rolling emotionally. This was a confrontation due to happen for some years now. Not many Apprentices stayed on with their Master's as long as he had. Klayton's time being studious in the Sith archives hadn't helped.

Degan threw a slicing arch at his side that he barely managed to deflect. He felt the stab of pain as the tip of Degan's saber burned through his clothing on his left side. Nothing serious but it was a distraction he couldn't afford. Degan's saber's blurred in front of him leaving him staggering backwards and out of the way. But not unscathed, for a moment his entire left eye had been completely blinded by red. He could still see, he knew that a line must have been cut there. He was shocked at how close he had come to losing his eye. The very tip must have grazed him.

Only when Degan paused did Klayton strike out with his own saber. He needed to move quickly if he was going to overwhelm Degan. Degan had struck first in an attempt to bring him down. Klayton avoided the whirling blade as best as he could.

He could feel his own heart pounding in excitement. Not just fear...

 _My turn_ , he thought bringing his own blade up. His eyes narrowed as he focused on Degan. He feinted to the left but moved to the right blade spinning managing to nick Degan's right arm in the process. Blood dripped on the ground. The sight of it only drove Klayton to move faster. His blade becoming a blur as he pulled the Force through him channeling every bit of anger and hate he could towards Degan, augmenting the flow of his arms. It wasn't that hard to pull off.

Degan was not seriously injured. The nick simply made him furious. His own pace picked up and the two of them became two sides of an infinite circle of loops. Blades whirling, and hitting, blood flying in drips splattering against the stones, neither over powering the other.

In the end, it was Degan's lunge toward Rí that did him in. Whether he meant to or not Klayton was never going to know. The feint towards Rí sent a surge of rage and desperation through Klayton that he'd never felt before.

Degan had backpedaled out of Klayton's saber range. His eyes flicked to Rí who was stirring on the ground behind him. Up until that moment they had ignored her inert form. He was moving faster than Klayton could catch up and raising his saber.

Fortunately, while Degan was in top form he was not the most creative Force User, relying on the strength of his ability with the Force, but not what he did with it. Certain he was out of Klayton's reach, he brought his light saber down in a wide arc across Rí's face. Or he tried to anyway.

Ri opened her eyes and all she could see for a few moments was the bright red light saber descending on her.

She would have screamed if she could have, but Klayton did it for her. A loud inhumane roar erupted out of his throat. Lightning erupted from his fingertips as he flung his light saber away. He caught Degan in the back with a stream of electricity. He pulled him away from Rí keeping up the stream as Degan screamed, unable to turn and catch the flow and send it back to Klayton.

Klayton dropped him after a moment unable to maintain the stream. His former master struggled back to his feet badly burned, blood dripping out of his nostrils. Klayton sank to a knee worn out. His hand strayed to his belt again, remembering he had tossed his saber. His fingers wrapped around another light saber. He realized it was Rí's saber that he had snatched up earlier.

 _Ironic._

In intense pain Degan clumsily attacked him half desperation, half insanity, moving into a sweeping form that would have been devastating to Klayton if Degan had been in any state to fight. Klayton managed to grab an arm and send a shock wave back into Degan but this close Degan returned it and both screamed in pain. Klayton managed to hold onto Degan's sword arm and plunged Rí's blade at Degan's chest clicking the blade on at the same time.

Blue shot out of the back of Degan's black covered backside, cauterizing the wound permanently open. Degan went to his knees again unable to stop the lightning this time from tearing him apart as Klayton unleashed a full storm of anger and rage on him screaming the whole time. He didn't let up until he felt the tips of his own fingers burning. The pain broke him out of a trance and he let go of the lightning completely shocked at the state of Degan's body.

The Force drained out of him and he sank to his knees panting, utterly spent.

Degan lay on the ground face up, his face completely blackened, his eye sockets empty. The stench of burned flesh permeated the air.

Bile rose in Klayton's throat. He knew what Force lightning was capable of, but seeing it up close was different. He had done this.

Klayton bore a new mark that he knew would scar. A straight line that sliced his cheek open and continued over his eye. He touched it gingerly and decided it could wait till later.

He staggered to his feet and moved clumsily back to Rí's side where she lay. He would have been an easy target for any enemy right now. He sank back to his knees next to her exhausted and leaned against a rock jutting out of the ground that resembled a large tombstone.

"Klay—" she started. She was half sitting up, Klayton knew her head had to have been killing her after what he had done.

"Don't," he started. He was exhausted himself. Blood dripped in a few places onto the stones next to her. He stared openly at her throat. Her neck was purple, guilt blossomed in him. He had done that to her."Don't move," he said, "It's going to take some time to recover."

"I saw—" _What you did._ She coughed and her voice was hoarse. He heard the unspoken thought. She'd witnessed Degan's killing at his hand. He couldn't look at her then, the bruising, her laying there. He couldn't deny the feelings of revulsion that suddenly passed through him. She was helpless, and his training demanded that he kill her. But at the same time he felt protective and almost possessive of her. He was now cut off from the path he thought he'd be walking. His hopes for taking his own world back, he carefully guarded those thoughts in case Ri heard them. He doubted she would be able to hear think clearly, let alone make sense of his thoughts.

He tried to take stock of what he'd just given up. Their world, for her, it had been simple...and he couldn't do it.

They were both from Dagelos. She had upheld their customs. He wanted to ask if she'd been home.

He still had both light sabers and he offered both to her. She grasped hers and pushed his back to him. Then she reached up with both hands and pulled on his shoulders, managing to pull herself up. He assisted her surprising himself in the process.

"Rí," he whispered her name again. He felt her small arms wrap around his chest and his arms encircled her in return as she started to sob. It was awkward. Klayton realized that for twenty-two years he'd never touched another being except to bring violence down up on them. He'd certainly never comforted anyone.

"I did it, I found you." Her voice was hoarse as she whispered it into his chest.

"You did." He wasn't sure how else to respond. He kept his arms around her though. It helped to not be able to see her face. He had killed many , and guilt had never been a feeling he associated with it. He wanted to run away, to process it. If she wasn't in this state, he might have. But she would need help, and so did he.

"Come back with me." Her arms tightened around him. Or tried to. She didn't have the strength to maintain the grip. They loosened again as she leaned against his armor.

"I can't." He said looking over her shoulder as he held her. _Too much blood on my hands,_ he thought. _I will never be accepted to a place like that._ She didn't stay awake very long, curled up into his chest, she promptly fell asleep again. He looked down at her face. Pinched and wan, blood from Degan's arm was sprayed across her forehead in a single line. There was blood all over her clothing and he briefly wondered who else she'd run into today.

He pulled his glove off and wiped it the blood away. The physical contact startled him and he was glad she was unconscious for the moment. He wouldn't have known what to say if she asked. He let his fingers drift across her cheek for a moment as he studied her.

The connection both thrilled and made him uncomfortable at the same time. He wasn't sure what to make of it. He pulled her closer and suddenly her braid brushed against his hand. He pulled it forward and examined the colors in it. He was homesick and his people, if he was honest with himself, he had been for years. Dagelos was a colorful world. Ri was a testament to that. Her three tattooed blue lines over the right side of her face, the same color streaked in her hair once indicated a warrior who'd completed elite training. He ran his fingers across the braid still fascinated by the memories a single touch had dredged up. As a child there used to be those that bore those colors...

 _Too much._

It was also disturbing that so little could cause so much. He hastily dragged his glove back on and leaned back against the tall stone that was behind him and closed his eyes.

He had no idea how long they sat like that in the dark but swath of light pulsed over and then returned to them startling him awake. He still had his arms wrapped around Ri, holding her firmly against his chest.

He glanced up to make sure it wasn't a Sith scouting party.

Odd now, to be hunted by both sides.

The Jedi that stood before him did not ignite his light saber. But it was clear that he was shocked to find Rí being held by a Sith. He said nothing as he took in the dead Sith, the unconscious Jedi, and Klayton's arms wrapped around Ri. Something significant had happened here that he did not quite understand.

Klayton, sensing only the one Jedi, did nothing. He was loathed to release her into the care of a stranger, initially he had planned on resting and then taking her with him. She was asleep and would be for some time. A mind invasion drained energy simply by the amount of pain it caused.

"Klayton..." she said in her sleep when he shifted.

The Jedi had moved closer. Klayton tightened his arms possessively. Up until that moment he hadn't considered any other option other than taking her with him until she was well.

This Jedi changed things. He couldn't take Ri away and fight a Jedi at the same time. Not that he wasn't tempted. But he was unsettled, his future gone, he needed to figure things out...

"May I help her?" The Jedi's voice cut through the darkness, and Klayton knew Ri would definitely better off being left behind than dragging her with him. The Jedi was older with graying hair at the temples spreading to what was once dark brown hair. His warm brown eyes reflected the concern he was feeling.

Klayton's arms tightened around Rí once again. He felt the flood of possessiveness which took him by surprise. Ri was not his in any sense of the word. He stayed tense for a moment, undecided, his hand straying toward his light saber.

He made a decision.

He released her, laying her gently on the ground. He stared at her face for a moment in the darkness. He traced the blue lines again aware that the Jedi was watching him. He wanted to take in every detail of her face before he left her for good.

Klayton did not expect to see her again. He shouldn't see her again.

The Jedi moved to her side as Klayton backed away. He turned around and walked out into the night without looking back.

 _I'm sorry, Ri_ , he sent to her. He hoped she heard him.


	3. Chapter 3

The visions came and went.

Ri was uncertain of their order and could barely place them in the past or the future. At times they didn't make sense. She was swimming through a vast ocean of memories that were her's but fell out of place and time.

 _Klayton teasing her as a child._

 _Seeing him again on Yavin 4._

 _Both of them standing in a sandy desert surround by dead bodies. Klayton moving around them, lifting hoods and checking faces. What were they looking for? When she tried seeing the answer the vision spun away from her._

 _Klayton running through a dark tunnel alone. He was communicating with her but she was... somewhere else? She was shouting at him to not give up. The vision dissolved when she tried to see her own surroundings._

 _Klayton standing with her in the Jedi Council. Their gazes locked on him as he tried to explain what they were up against. As she strained to hear him, she lost that vision as well._

 _He had a tight grip on her hand and he turned to her asking, "Where are we?" They were on a hill together, the entirety of the solar system laid out in front of them._

 _The stars winking out, blackness stretching across the cosmos._

 _A voice speaking: "All will be mine."_

 _And finally, Klayton pressing her against the wall and dropping his face down towards her and his lips crushed against hers... "Now you know..."_

Startled, Ri's eyes snapped open and she was momentarily blinded by the bright lights. Her hand flew up to cover her eyes and she took stock of her surroundings. She was in the Infirmary on Coruscant. A groan escaped her before she could suppress it. She could still feel his lips against hers even as the Force receded, taking the vision with it.

The Jedi Temple sat on a concentration of what was considered Light Side energy on Coruscant.

For Ri, it meant every time she closed her eyes to sleep, she had a vision. Oddly enough no one had ever discovered her secret. It meant living in the Temple of the Prophets for the rest of your days, writing down what you saw for the rest of Temple. In general, just making prophecies. Ri surmised that there had been no living Jedi with a connection to the Future like her for generations. It was not a natural dark side ability but it appeared to have been lost to the light as well.

 _Or maybe we're not as much in the light as we think we are._ She paused for a moment, the last vision still with her. When had that happened? Why?

A shadow filled the doorway. "I see you are awake?" Seneschal her former Master moved into the room. He grabbed the plain white chair that was next to the door and pulled it closer to her sinking into it. His long white hair pulled back over his shoulders was the only betrayal of his age.

"How long have I been here?"

"A month," he admitted.

Ri stifled another groan.

"I can see you are not happy to be here." Seneschal grinned. It was no secret that Ri spent most of her time off Coruscant fighting. She'd been on many battlefields, preferring to avoid the Temple if she could help it. She had thus far avoiding taking on a padawan as well.

"Merda!" She muttered to herself, cursing in her native Dageli. Seneschal shook his head. Her habits from home still permeated her vocabulary. Her common was clean, but he was glad that Dagelon was so far out on the outer rim that most beings were unfamiliar with the language.

"What happened on Yavin 4?" He asked, lowering his voice, his eyes searching hers.

Ri turned away, prefering to stare at the floor. "I was hoping you could tell me. I don't remember much before..." _Klayton attacked me._

That didn't come out of her mouth. Her memory started to clear further. Fuzzy memories of Klayton fighting his Master, seeing a red light saber coming down on her. Klayton using force lightning, killing him. The memories came back faster. He had looked inside her mind, it was the worst experience she'd ever had fighting with a Sith.

He'd killed his Master and not her. _He chose me._

 _Why? Where was he?_ She stared at Seneschal for a moment, she had no answers. She could feel him reaching out, attempting to gauge her mind. She said nothing further.

"He must care for you very much to do what it looked like he did." His eyes searched hers. "To betray his own and not kill you. That takes a lot of strength."

"I don't understand." She was still trying to process the whirlwind of visions she'd experienced. The last one was the most unsettling, and the most unlikely. Worse because it was the last it was the most vivid.

"You know the tests Sith go through."

That snapped her back to the present. She did understand the tests. They severed their connections to their home by killing someone they were close to. Something that meant they could never return, they were fully committed to the dark side of the Force.

 _He chose me. He wasn't fully committed..._

Her head swam at the realization. She gripped the side of the bed to keep from laying back. Seneschal carried on. "When I came upon you both, he was holding you up. I did not think he was going to let you go, on the contrary...I thought he might actually fight me."

"So...he just left?"

Seneschal nodded. "Stepped out into the night and vanished."

Ri said nothing to that. The memories were coming back. She remembered sobbing into Klayton's chest now, she had been in a lot of pain. He hadn't come back with her after all...but...

He had held her? And he let her go.

And the visions...were they going to come to pass or a stream that was passing away quickly? The future wasn't set in stone. She knew this, but it didn't stop the possibilities from each line. A single tiny stream started out making it's way towards an ocean on many worlds. But even in the earliest stages a single pebble could disrupt its course. Eventually it would go so far and become so fixed in its course that nothing would stand in it's way. Ri pondered for a moment. Was she the pebble or the stream?

"You want to find him." It wasn't a question. Ri's eyes snapped up only to find her former master staring at her with a grave expression on his face.

"I have been looking for your friend." He folded his hands across his lap as a mischievous smirk spread across his face. The seriousness of the conversation eased.

Rí sat up straighter. "And?"

"It seems he has quite a gift for mind control, unparalleled mental abilities really..."

Seneschal noticed her puzzled look and grinned. "We found him on Telos. Living alone, It's another border world, barely populated, probably because of it's location. From what I understand he shows up for food and supplies and heads out into the Mountains again."

"Food and supplies..." Rí repeated, not sure if she was hearing him correctly. She stared at Seneschal.

"We did send a four party delegation," Seneschal said. He couldn't quite hide the amusement in his voice.

Rí wasn't sure what was so funny. "What did they do?"

"What did THEY do?" Seneshcal lifted an eyebrow. "They did nothing, he ordered them to return to the Temple... in fact he controlled them. We aren't sure how but he did not harm them in anyway. He simply sent them home."

Rí's mind was racing.

 _Klayton was on Telos._

 _She wasn't going to have to find him._

 _Maybe he would talk to her._

 _Maybe, just maybe, she was the stream, or the river rushing towards whatever the Force was guiding her towards._

"What happened on Yavin 4 with the other Sith? You haven't answered the question. The other Sith was fried. Did he do that?" Seneschal's voice pulled her out of her own thoughts. She dragged her eyes towards him wishing he would just go away for five minutes. Her head was pounding.

"The other Sith attacked me." Rí explained as she nodded. It was some of the truth, or at least as much as she wanted to divulge.

Seneschal sighed. "I'm going to give you permission to use my ship for the next sixty days. The council sees him— "

"Klayton."

"... sees Klayton, as a problem. He's a wayward Sith but he's inside our boundary. They were hoping because he saved you that you could go and speak with him."

"He wants to see me?"

"I didn't say that, he doesn't seem to want to see anyone. But the council wishes you to go. He may or may not want to see you."

Rí looked up at him. She was not sure she'd heard him correctly. She thought she would have to sneak to Telos.

"You look surprised."

"Sorry, I... do you think he'll speak with me?"

Seneschal paused for a moment. He remembered seeing the way that Klayton had held Rí when she was semi-conscious. "I think that he must have cared very much for you to stop another Sith from killing you. I don't see why not."

"And I can go alone?"

Seneschal hesitated. "You can meet Klayton alone...but we've been ordered to go with you."

"We?" She gave him a pointed look, dread setting in. _Merda!_ She immediately knew who they had chosen to go with her and Seneschal. A string of curses in her home tongue erupted in her mind. Dageli was a colorful language. She kept them in her head.

"When can we leave?"

"When you are ready, we figured you'd need a few days...and the council wants to have a word. And by word they want to yell at you for a bit on being reckless...again." He placed a hand on her arm. "Ri, the council sees Klayton as a threat. You must convince him to join with us. Or at least aid us. He's quite powerful, he would have to be if he is the one who fried the other Sith to death. If he does not, at some point they will send someone to deal with him. He is inside the Republic Boundary. While he is not bothering anyone currently they won't let him stay there forever. You know that."

Ri's heart sank. She did know, but she also knew Klayton was no longer a threat, however powerful he might be. She couldn't convince them without revealing herself. Shame washed through whenever it came to doing her duty and hiding her abilities she always chose to hide her ability. Even now the thought of discovery terrified her.

"I'm ready now."

"I figured as much."

Ri could only nod. She would give him the chance to join her, or run to another location to hide. The council would not leave him alone. He was potentially a threat.

Jaynor Wik stood outside of Ri's room waiting for her. When she emerged, he swept her up into a hug immediately. Ri couldn't understand his interest in her but she had kept him at a distance for a while now. There had been a time when she had considered him as a partner, but he was devoted to the Jedi code in its entirety.

With all her secrets... She couldn't get that close. She admired the stalwart Jedi. He was free to believe in every line, every word of the Jedi code. Something always held Ri back. Revealing herself meant being stuck on Coruscant for the rest of her days. And if Ri was honest with herself she didn't know that she wouldn't fight her way out just to have that choice.

Jaynor, while handsome and appealing came from a wealthy family from the core worlds. He would not understand her hesitancy at hiding her gift for seeing the future. In fact he would be the first one to see her locked in the Temple and would not feel guilty about forcing her to stay. It would be his duty.

He was a fellow Jedi Knight. They had trained together. Ri had surpassed him in her training going on to become a Battle Master and learning Vaapad from her Master. Vaapad was forbidden to most of the other Jedi, considered too close to the Dark Side.

Ri had ended their budding relationship when Seneschal decided to teach it to her. She could honestly say that she didn't see him in her future.

 _I never wanted anything from him_ , Ri reminded herself as he set her down again.

"Ri! I wanted to see if you were all right." He smiled down at her. His light brown eyes and sandy colored hair caught the sun and flashed down at her. It only made the irritation she felt grow stronger. And the guilt.

He frowned sensing her mood. "I'm ready to go if you are." He did know her well at least. He did care but Ri was not interested in settling down. Not yet.

Ri nodded forcing a smile. Everyone knew her disposition. He linked his arm through hers. "Let's get off this rock."

"So who is this Sith who saved you? The counsel has been talking about it, and they sent a delegation." He frowned, "They haven't spoken of the details since they returned, but they want you to go now?"

"I know him." Ri felt relieved when Seneschal's ship was in view. The hustle of the spaceport all around them calmed her nerves. They would soon launch into the black of space. She could feel Jaynor's questioning stare at the top of her head. They moved towards the space port at a quick pace. "We were orphans together." She explained.

Jaynor nodded, waiting for more details. "How did he end up as a Sith?" he finally asked.

Ri hesitated remembering the last day She had seen Klayton before Yavin 4. Her jaw clenched. Her grip on his arm had tightened for a moment. Jaynor paused for a moment. "I'm guessing it was a bad day."

"You have no idea. They grabbed me first and he tried to save me, they ended up taking him instead." It was out and she heard Jaynor's sudden intake of breath. It was a life debt that she owed Klayton, she told herself. She wasn't even going to explain a life debt to Jaynor. It was another part of Dageli culture he wouldn't understand. Jedi were expected to be fully Jedi. But in the same way that Klayton had been taken by the Sith, Ri had been taken by the Jedi, "saving" her. She didn't begrudge this, but there were customs that she wasn't willing to part with. It was not like she was going to "freed" from the Temple with her abilities.

Jaynor pulled her to a halt meters from Seneschal's vessel. "Ri, you should let someone in, talk about things."

Ri looked up at him again remembering a time when she very much wanted to. "I'm fine," she said. "Let's just go." She pulled away from him and started walking.

Jaynor stood behind her for a moment and then followed onto the ship aware that he pushed too much. Ri had always closed up tight when he asked about her home and childhood. He'd gotten little glimpses here and there. She fascinated him with her keeping of her home customs. She looked out of place among the other Jedi. Ri was a puzzle that refused to be solved. He very much wanted to.


	4. Chapter 4

Ri's eyes focused on the speeding lines of hyperspace in front of her and her mind went to the link she shared with Klayton. She couldn't feel his emotions as clearly now, but they were there. He felt muted but she didn't push for more. If he knew she was coming, he might run.

She wondered at their connection, turning the link over in her mind. She could feel it, almost see it in her mind's eye now. It was a piece of her mind that had always been there, and yet now it was alive again. She had no idea if anyone else shared a similar bond. It wasn't recorded anywhere in the archives. And to have one with a Sith?

 _Childhood friend_ , she corrected herself. They had been friends first, close friends. There was no way to separate that fact from the fact their lives had taken very different turns. Even at that age, they hadn't known how unusual the link was. Sure Jedi could reach into the heads of others. It was forbidden and considered invasive. But their thoughts were so readily available to each other back then. She'd never considered it strange at all.

They had not started out as a Sith and Jedi. They were just kids when they were taken. One for each side of the Force. She felt a shiver that had nothing to do with the temperature inside her ship.

 _Could that mean something?_

The ship emerged out of hyperspace jolting Rí out of her reverie. The white lines of hyperspace slowed to pin the pricks of stars again.

 _Telos._

It filled her screen and she could see that it's only crime to be so far from the center of the Galactic Republic. It had no resources to make it a target for marauding Sith or otherwise. Its population was small. Mainly those looking to live out from the heavy boot of the government. She could see the appeal to Klayton. Dagelos had once been very much like this world. It's population boomed, resources were discovered and the rest was history...

Her nerves felt frayed, and she took a calming breath when his voice suddenly filled her mind.

 _Rí. I should have known you would be sent here next._

 _Klayton?_

 _Go home._

 _I can't..._

 _Go home, or I'll make you... like I did the others..._

 _No..._ She trembled where she sat. The last remark caused a ripple of pain through their bond.

She gasped and knew it was guilt seeping through. She quickly closed her mind. He felt guilt. It surprised her, although it shouldn't have. He had turned at the last minute, whatever he'd seen in her memories had caused him to change his mind about killing her. But he'd also fled. She was going to land whether he liked it or not. He hadn't killed her before, and she was sure it wouldn't happen now. She focused on the place closest to him. Reaching out she could almost pin point his location. She leaned forward as the link opened up again. He had closed as much as he could but she still felt like she was standing outside of a door listening to him.

Fear. He was afraid. Of her? She pulled away from him with a sigh and inhaled deeply. She was afraid too. Her fists clenched in front of her and she stood up and let go of the controls. She'd come this far, there was no turning back now.

Seneschal and Jaynor exchanged glances behind her. The spike of emotion was evident but her thoughts were hidden from them.

Ri hoped nothing was showing too much on her face. Some Jedi could be placid in a building on fire. Ri was never good at mastering her emotions visibly.

She'd chosen battle, not diplomacy.

 _Rí, go home._ Klayton's voice filled her head again, it had a pleading note to it. She put a finger on her temple and reached out through the connection. She tried to send reassurance, a feeling of calm but felt the refusal to accept those emotions in an instant.

 _No._

There was a small landing pad near the mountains where she could feel him. She aimed passed that and went for the foot of the mountains. There were several white plateaux further up the peak. It was winter here in this region and there was snow everywhere.

 _Where are you?_

 _You aren't going to take no for an answer._

 _Have I ever?_

Klayton let a sigh through the bond. It must have been deliberate because she would never have heard the noise otherwise. _Highest plateau and you will still have to walk quite a way._

 _Thank you._

He didn't respond and again she wondered what would happen when they stood face to face.

She guided the ship down, Seneschal's ship was a small Freighter that he had outfitted for Jedi purposes. It was small, about 24 meters across but serviceable and he could take passengers when needed. He'd named it the Aphelion and Ri was as familiar with it as she was the back of her hand.

The front of the craft shifted back up as she aimed to cross the small hills. The Nav Center giving her a fairly decent map of the terrain. , She reached out with the Force and "saw" the site. Soon the place was visible to the rest of them.

She jumped when Jaynor stepped behind her. He placed a hand on her shoulder. It was supposed to be a comforting gesture but all it did was cause a sense of irritation. "He really doesn't want to be found, does he? Are you sure you want to go alone?"

"Yes," She whispered without taking her eyes off the screen. She didn't need to look at him to feel his concern.

Seneschal put a hand on Jaynor's tense shoulder to draw him back. "We'll wait here." He motioned to the screens. "If we can see him, I'm sure he can see us." _And he can sense you._

Seneschal left that part unsaid, although his tone told Ri what he was implying.

That Jaynor didn't like the plan was obvious. But he made no attempt to change her mind again. Ri was thankful. She doubted she could have explained what was going on, especially when she herself couldn't make sense of the visions. There had been no one to teach her what any of it meant. And she'd always been too afraid to tell anyone. She was literally going to the only person who knew and had never told anyone. She had to know why.

Heart pounding, she set the ship down gently in the snow. Its legs extended and sank a few feet in. Without looking at either of the two Jedi, Ri took a deep breath and made for the door.

Now for the hard part. She made sure to have on the best boots and her warmest robes. Even with gloves, the chill almost took her breath away. She covered her face with a white scarf over her brown robes. The snow was beautiful here but could be deadly.

Not to mention it was deep.

The wind whipped her braided hair pulling strands out.

 _Better get walking._ He was in her mind again and he sounded amused. _It's going to get colder tonight._

Rí sighed. He wasn't going to make this any easier on her. He didn't want her here but he wasn't surprised that they would send her. She reached out again using their bond and felt him draw away before she could really sense his thoughts.

It didn't matter though. All she needed was a direction to start walking in.

She resisted the urge to call out to him. She would find him on her own. If he was being stubborn so could she.

Klayton was content to exile himself in complete solitude. In his mind, it was better than he deserved.

But Rí wasn't going to let that happen. When she had appeared in orbit their bond had lit up startling him. It was exactly the same as when he had first sensed her on Yavin 4. He wondered if she was aware how much their bond actually let her emotions through when they were this close. He probably bled through the other way. Thoughts he could hide, but feelings, emotions didn't hide so well.

He had forgotten how stubborn she could be. She wasn't going to leave without speaking to him. He even suggested that he could force her to leave and her reaction made him realize that what had happened on Yavin 4 had scarred her.

He had scarred her.

He should have known that would happen. Wasn't that why he was hiding? Guilt? He had killed plenty of other people. Guilt had never been part of the equation. He'd learned to enjoy the fight, enjoy what he unleashed. Enjoyed what he could control of his life. But just that one memory had wiped away his view of life, it had tumbled like a house of cards.

He turned and found himself staring at his reflection on the polished surface of the wall. His head turned sideways as he looked at himself. Klayton realized he hadn't really taken the time to see himself in years. He was still in his prime but he wasn't young. Briefly, he felt pained at how much time had passed. Anger rose up again and he turned away with a clenched fist.

"Master?" Dag's metallic voice pulled him out of his thoughts. The droid was staring at him eyes bright as he could almost sense a battle coming. His servos whirling, waiting to charge into the fight. Klayton wasn't surprised, Dag was after all a holodroid, refitted to train him in light saber techniques. Lord Degan had been busy with other pursuits and had often left the saber training to the droid.

"No Dag," He said standing up. "Don't harm her at all." The droid rolled his head, as he had no eyes to roll, and shuffled away into the corner.

Klayton reached out with his senses to see if he could find Ri. She was stubbornly plunging through the snow. He brushed her mind gently, just enough to locate her. She was close, so he opened the hatch of his ship and stepped outside, motioning the droid not to follow. He might have told Dag no, but that didn't mean that Dag wouldn't act in his defense if they argued.

He saw nothing through the trees for a moment. They were thick which is why he picked this location in the first place. There wasn't much in the way of beasts or sentient beings that were going to come up here and bother him.

There she was, brown robes soaked, red faced, her scarf wrapped around her nose and mouth. The blue lines over her left eye stood in stark contrast to the redness of her exposed face. He stared open mouthed for a moment and just watched her come toward him. She reminded him so much of their homeworld his heart ached. _Beautiful_ he thought, before pushing that thought away quickly.

He crossed his arms and waited for her to notice him. His black attire, cape and bright red mohawk stood out in stark contrast against the snow.

"Little figa, If I was trying to kill you..." She startled but regained her composure quickly. Her face snapped up at the sound of his voice but he noted her hands did not stray to her light saber at all. That was interesting.

"I wouldn't have trudged all this way." She kept coming closer until she stood in front of him and glared up at him. She shook the snow off and stomped her boots. "You going to let me in, or leave me outside to freeze." Bravado, this was definitely different than Yavin 4.

"I should let you freeze," he turned with a sigh and moved towards his ship buried under the snow. The hatch slid open and he walked inside and she followed.

"Well that would be pointless since you saved my life. Twice." Her voice carried on behind him. His ship was warm and he knew Dag had messed with the temperature while he was walked up the small short hallway that led to a small dining area. He slapped the wall and the door swung shut behind them. He hadn't seen her in a month. Even after seeing into her mind, she was still very much an enigma to him. He couldn't make sense of her loyalty to him after all these years. And that's what it was, he told himself. Loyalty, one Dageli to another, until he broke her trust.

Dag suddenly loomed up between them. Ri had to stop abruptly as she only came up to the Droid's chest. "Master." He greeted Klayton. He turned his eyes to Ri and said nothing as he studied her.

Ri was unnerved under the robot's probing stare. "Relax he's just getting a profile." Klayton stared enjoying her discomfiture.

"Oh." Ri stood for an uncomfortable moment dripping onto the floor.

Klayton shifted his stance slightly and stared at Ri, breaking the silence. "Aren't you and your friends just a little afraid I might kill you?"

Ri lifted an eyebrow, she then reached down and pulled her light saber from her belt. Klayton tensed, knowing the whole time that she could sense his feelings almost as if they were her own. _Don't_ , he couldn't help but voice in his mind. She heard the thought but only stared at him, a placid expression on her face.

Without hesitating she tossed the light saber to him, the one weapon any Jedi loathed to give up. To say Klayton was surprised was an understatement as he reached out and caught it by reflex. He stared at the weapon in his hand, again remembering that the last time he'd held it he'd used it to end the life of his former master. He'd chosen Ri over the Sith order. Neither side was going to let him forget it anytime soon.

"I'll take my chances." Her soft voice broke him out of his reverie. He said nothing for a moment. She'd called his bluff and they both knew it. He made a pretense of studying her lightsaber as she waited.

Ri waited for a moment, nervous, she reached up and tugged on her own braid, and then began to unwind her white scar, letting the ends hang around her shoulders. The Jedi council wanted her here for a reason but she hadn't come here for them. The truth was she would have come with or without their permission. He hadn't killed her, he'd saved her. He was also the only person in the universe who knew she had Force visions. Even when he'd been consumed with the idea that he would get his revenge on her, he'd never told another soul. That meant something, but she couldn't say what. For all the visions she'd had, none had really prepared her for Klayton himself.

She turned a full circle to see her surroundings. "Why are you here?"

"It's a good place to get lost."

Rí studied her surroundings as he studied her. It was a ship, a small one but definitely a freighter of sorts. It had rooms for storage and crew. She couldn't make out the model as it was currently buried under a few feet of snow. Klayton moved closer to her.

"I wasn't kidding about getting lost." He said softly. He stared at the tattoos on her face again, they reminded him of Dagelos, but he dared not go home. Not yet. He was still standing close to her and he raised a gloved hand to flick snow off of her hair.

She flinched.

He flinched in return, jerking his own hand back. He backed away immediately as the visions of her with the purple bruising on her neck swam before his eyes. He inhaled sharply as the vision rose up before fading away. He wondered if it was a warning, or if he was just going crazy. "You should go." _I left you there alive, you didn't have to come after me._

But the flash of guilt that he felt did not go unnoticed by her. D _Mamn the bond,_ he thought. He had never been able to cut it, but he now had a good reason to. She was alive and well. She didn't need to see into his head.

"What was that?" She asked. She didn't reach out to him, but he could feel the concern. _Don't shut me out, Klayton. Not now._

"It's nothing," he responded turning away, he moved to the other side of the room. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Dag watching him with interest. Dag had never observed his master so unnerved before. Klayton made a mental note to tone down the holodroid's curiosity a bit.

It grew quiet between them. Rí didn't think she was up for another walk back to her ship, even if she wanted to. She felt physically and mentally exhausted.

"I came here to talk to you." She said after the silence stretched on and she stared at the back of his head for what felt like an eternity. The bright colored cut was familiar to her, painfully reminding her of home as well.

"I'm not coming to the Temple if that's what you are going to ask."

"That's not-"

"You want to know about Yavin 4." Again the flash of guilt.

"No."

His faced snapped up towards her genuine curiosity in his expression. "What then?"

"I've been having visions..." She started.

"Of?" She had his attention now.

"I didn't go through all of that so you would get captured." He answered her unspoken thought out loud. Ri flushed with embarrassment.

"I never said thank you."

"You're welcome." He glanced down at the floor, clenching and unclenching his hands. A month ago he'd been ready to kill her. Now he didn't want to kill her but he didn't know what to believe in anymore. His desire for revenge was gone, replaced by no sense of direction or purpose. He just... was. "Tell me about the vision."

"Us, we're fighting something. Well, standing against something... Together...and I thought..."

"What?" He moved closer this time. He wanted her to flinch on purpose. Maybe if he made her see that she was still frightened of him she would leave. He could still sense her through the bond, it might have been amusing when they were younger. But now he kept seeing flashes of what she was seeing, which was himself standing across the room from her. Looking annoyed.

He closed up in himself. He could do without that for a while.

Dag glanced at his Master hoping for the order. Jedi were high on his kill list and he couldn't fathom a good reason for keeping this particular one alive. When it didn't come he gave an exaggerated sigh, he didn't have lungs after all and moved to wipe up the wet spots Ri had made.

"Look I don't know what we were facing, I saw stars winking out..."

"It happens..." Klayton stared at the floor.

"What?"

"Stars going out. Happens all the time."

"This was different."

"Why because the Force showed it to you?" Herein was a difference in the beliefs of the Sith and the Jedi. The Sith controlled, the Jedi tried to let the Force guide them.

Rí grated her teeth against each other. Mentally cursing at him, you _are stubborn_. "You were there." She said finally, "We were holding hands— "

"Holding hands?" He looked surprised. She'd just flinched when he came too close.

"It's fine."

"No it isn't," he snapped. He looked at her his eyes blazed. "Look I don't know what you have in mind. But— "

"I don't have anything in mind." She snapped. "I don't have anyone else to talk to. No one else knows I have visions. And you're in them, so I thought— "

"What that I would just come out and join the Jedi order?"

"No..."

"I have nothing to offer." He was almost sincere when he said it. He wanted isolation. He didn't even know what was going on in the Sith Empire right now. "Take that back to the Temple."

"I'm not here for them."

He crossed his arms and stared at her. He knew she was being honest, but that was the most frightening part of this. She was telling the truth.

"Something is coming," she said finally crossing her arms as well and staring up at him. "You're part of it."

He sighed. The last time they had discussed her visions, they'd come true. "Sit down."

Ri sat across from him, her eyes studying him earnestly. "Klayton, look, I know-"

"No." He cut her off, his own eyes leveled at her. "Get to the crux of it. What do you want from me?"


	5. Chapter 5

Klayton was silent for a moment. "You actually stayed in the Hall of the Prophets when that happened?" He knew about the Hall of Prophets. The Force used to show them visions when they simply looked into the future. At least, the Jedi could do it. A few Sith were known to have the capability. But literally, no one for quite a span of time had been able to do it. Due to the dwindling nature of the gift, those who could see into the future were considered prophets and locked into the Hall of Prophets, spending their days gazing down the many paths the future could take.

Until Ri.

"Every time I closed my eyes," she whispered. "I had a vision. It was awful."

"Awful," Klayt repeated with a lifted eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest. He'd taken off his long coat and stripped down to his tunic. His muscular arms were bare other than a few scars here or there. Awful was not how he would have pictured it. A concentration of Force energy in one place would boost her visions, and possibly her abilities. Seems like it would have been a boon. He reached out to see what she really meant. Surprised, he felt her skin crawling at the idea of seeing the future. She really hated it that much.

Klayton filed that away. Had he hated her so much that he wanted her dead no matter what?

A long suppressed memory of the last day they were together surfaced.

 _"Klayton." She'd whispered grabbing his arm, the fear in her eyes immediately transferred over to him. "That's the ship I've been seeing!"_

 _"Those aren't dreams!" He said suddenly staring at her, his eyes were huge as he turned skyward._

 _"Premonitions..." She gasped, also turning skyward, "But that means, they're here."_

 _He looked at her strangely. "You've been seeing the future..."_

 _"What does it mean?"_

 _Klayton glanced skyward again. "That it's going to be very bad."_

He shook his head at the memory, only to find her staring at him again. No, being able to see the future had not saved either of them from their fate that day. He'd spent a few years plotting revenge for something that never occurred and yet he never thought to mention she could see the future? Every Sith in the Empire would have gone after her, either to trade favor with the current Emperor or raise themselves up as the new one. "Have you tried focusing your ability? I mean striving to see more than what's there? And are they always correct?"

"I don't know... I saw you." She paused and looked up at him. He could feel her consternation.

"Me?" Klayton could hear the doubt in his own voice. Yet that was why she was here. He could pick that much out of her thoughts. She moved from one subject to another in her mind. It was tough to listen to just one thought. She wasn't blocking him and as far as he could tell she was being completely honest.

"Before I found you on Yavin 4...I saw a vision of you, but I didn't know it was you. I thought at first I had to face you. I've seen you in other places since...in a desert, surrounded by death."

"Death?"

"I don't know how to explain it...I think you were just there. I was there too. We found it, but we didn't cause it."

Klayton crossed his arms in front of him. He stretched his legs out and briefly gave thought to just dragging her back to the Empire. A Force User with the ability to see the future would be a high commodity there and would ensure his place in the upper echelons of power.

He also knew he would never do that. Not to her. Not now.

But going back was tempting. Where he knew what was going on, it was relatively safe for him, even with all the back stabbing that happened. You knew who your enemies were, everyone wanting to step on you to move up.

Ri was bringing an unknown to him that actually frightened him. What was worse, he was connected to her and could feel her feelings... And when she wasn't blocking him, hear her thoughts. Which meant she could hear his. He remained silent both mentally and verbally visualizing static.

The Sith would have given anything to have someone with the ability to see the Future, or at least possible futures like she could. For whatever reason, as of late, no one on the dark side could do it. In the past, few had the ability. There had to be a reason for it but Klayton had never seen it in any archives that he had studied. Perhaps deeper into Korriban II would have them, but only those on the Council of the Brethren were allowed there.

Ri was staring at him and he realized she'd asked him a question. "I said what do you think?"

"I think," he paused. "I think there isn't much to go on here."

"But—"

"I mean it, Ri," he rubbed his temples. "I don't know what you want me to say or do." He stood up, "There's a cabin in the back, it's empty. It was Degan's but we both know he's not coming back for it." He pointed to a door near the back of the common room.

"Why did you pick red?" He was still sitting in the chair. She was referring to his red hair, he had shaved it close on the sides and styled it into a bright red mohawk.

"You know what that means on Dagelos." She stared at the hair style. Hair styles meant something on Dagelos, certain ones were worn by people of importance. Klayton's originally meant royalty. Before the annexation of Dagelos into the Republic, the royal sons had worn it. The daughters had streaked their hair red. After the annexation, with the royal family deposed there had been an outcry in the streets. Thousands had adopted the hair style in protest.

While known for their colorful personalities as well as the style of dress on the outer rim it was the first time a hair style had been outlawed in the Republic. The style never meant anything anywhere else but at home, he would have been jailed for it.

There was a long silence. "It was my birthright," he said finally. His secret was out. He had never shared with her, even when they were children. She gasped. "Two generations ago, it would have been anyway."

"No... I thought that you were all gone..." Ri's facial tattoos and blue hair stripes in her braid would have indicated that she belonged to the elite guard. In another age, she would have served and guarded him with her life.

Klayton had a reason more than most to hate the Galactic Republic.

"Deposed isn't the same as killed." He paused. "I am going to go back for them. They had no right to come in and take our world from us by force."

"But—"

 _Enough._ He was turning away, still arguing mentally with her, almost like they had done as children.

 _Why didn't you tell me?_

 _It didn't involve you._

 _The hell it doesn't!_

 _That would have gotten us both killed. I wasn't supposed to be there that long anyway._

 _What happened?_

 _Everybody died._

Klayton stared at her for a moment and then turned away. He kept his thoughts from her by literally thinking about nothing.


	6. Chapter 6

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p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Merda./em He heard the swear word in her mind. em style="box-sizing: border-box;"And she let me take her down on Yavin 4/em. "Get dressed."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"She started pulling on her outer clothes. She pulled on her boots as she tried to ignore the fact Klayton seemed genuinely concerned. He left the room and was running back, adjusting the clothes he had hastily thrown on. Dragging gloves on over his hands./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Klayton looked towards Dag who had been observing silently the whole time. "Dag clean this up."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Of course." The holodroid clanked forward as Klayton moved towards the door. Klayton could swear he heard Dag muttering about what a nuisance Jedi were and things were much better when he was allowed to kill them on sight./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Ready?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"She nodded, the urgent feeling steadily growing. He turned toward the door and Ri made to go after him./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"The vision was upon her with so much force that she fell to her knees. She couldn't hear Klayton calling her name when he saw that she wasn't following him./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"She stood on a dead planet. Sand shifted underneath her boots. Everywhere she turned there was nothing, no life, not even the lowly buzz of a flying insect./em/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"A large wedge shaped ship was drifting off into space. It was obviously a star destroyer, but where had it come from? One hadn't been in use for centuries and none of the Sith had been in possession of one in recent years./em/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Until now./em/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"The dead planet felt draining, it was so heavy...she realized it wasn't death itself that was the problem...but the lack of the Force which normally permeated everything was gone./em/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"A void had been created here.../em/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"...on...on.../em/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"...Dagelos?/em/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"She was aware of Klayton waving a hand in front of her face, "Are you ok?" She jerked back too aware of his presence./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I'm fine...it's just..."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Visions." He supplied reaching a handout. She glanced up at him and took the offered hand. "I can't see them," he explained. "But I can sense when they come over you...it's like you are there, but you are hard to reach. Like a shell comes over you..." He shrugged in frustration. He couldn't give a clearer explanation. "I can sense your fear...what did you see?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Can you sense that when I'm not close?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""You mean across the galaxy? I don't know, I haven't tried...mostly I just know you're alive." He stopped, it was the whole reason he'd never tried to sever the bond. He needed to believe that she was ok, that everything he went through wasn't for nothing. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"That had changed to finding her and destroying her./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"And now?/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I need to go." She repeated./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Ok." She wasn't going to tell him what she had seen, that much was certain./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Just get me to the ship," She paused and for once took in the concerned look he was giving her. "Please."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"He nodded and they stepped out into the darkness together, Klayton feeling her distress and urgency through the bond. He had climbed on the speeder and let the Force guide him past any obstacles. He slowed without her notice./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"As bad as he felt about Yavin 4, he couldn't deny the thrill that shot through him when she climbed up behind him and put her arms around his chest./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"It was all the pleasure he was going to allow himself. She was leaving and wouldn't return./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Her ship was there in front of them in darkness. He felt her release him and climb off the speeder. She turned to him and smiled, "I'm sorry Klayton."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""For what?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Bringing this here to your door."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I don't even know what "it" is."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Klayton started to offer to go with her. The words were on the tip of his tongue, his hand outstretched towards her./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"It felt right./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"The door opened and a sandy haired, brown eyed Jedi came out of the ship. He eyed Klayton with a cold stare. Klayton dropped his hand immediately the words drying on his lips./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I need to see what this is." She looked like she wanted to say more. He wondered if she could feel his dismay. He could feel her emotions and thoughts bouncing all over the place./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Just don't go all supernova out there." He meant her emotions. The other Jedi was still staring him down, but he barely registered in Ri's thoughts. Klayton was comfortable with that./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I won't." She bolted for her ship without waiting for a reply, in minutes the freighter was lifting off into space./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"As he watched it go, he thought he would feel relieved that she was gone./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Klayton couldn't help wonder if he had missed something important. I should have gone with her. All the visions she'd had mentioned and the sudden surge from the Force around her. It had felt right to go. Then the other Jedi had shown up./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"He paused for a moment before getting on his speeder. If he really was in all those visions, Ri would be back for him. He would wait./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""So he didn't want to come?" Jaynor pressed Ri once they were off Telos./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""What?" Ri glanced up at him, not paying any attention to the other two. She had been moody and quiet for the ascent./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""He did not want to come?" Jaynor repeated./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""No." Said Ri quietly. She glanced at Seneschal. "Do you think we could...?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Already set the coordinates." He smiled. "We'll have to be quick though."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Ri forced a smile back. Nothing was amiss. She wasn't going to have to explain her reasons for wanting to visit her home world./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"She had no close living relatives but some distant ones that she would check on. But she never visited them. They wouldn't know who she was by now. Many Dageli still resented the Galactic Republic's overreach onto their planet. Jedi included./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Ri couldn't blame them./p 


	7. Chapter 7

Everything looked like it always did on Dagelos though. She smiled at the festive hair colors and shaved cuts on most of the natives. Ri had shed her Jedi robe on the ship, although her light saber was hanging from her belt.

"I can see why you would fit in right here." Jaynor smiled at her. "They really do love hair colors here don't they?"

Ri smiled back in return. She had a large blue streak in her dark brown hair and three blue lines tattooed on the right side of her face. This was home for her and she loved it. Jaynor was just on a field trip.

"We do," she replied including herself. "Mine are the mark of the completion of a warriors training. I wanted to keep some of the customs, something that reminded me I am di Dageli."

"Di Dageli?"

"From Dagelos." She smiled again as a few children ran by. A few even had their hair brightly colored. One had his hair shaved on the sides like Klayton's but his hair was blue, not red. In the orphanage, none of them had been able to do color their hair. The dyes were something your parents helped you with.

"Time to be going." Seneschal called out to them from behind. Ri turned looking around and nodded. Everything was in place. Nothing was wrong... Yet.

They made for the freighter and once on board Seneschal took over the controls to make his ascent. "What did you think of Dagelos?" Ri whispered to Jaynor.

He shrugged. "Not really my kind of place, but I'm from the Core worlds...and things are a bit more..." He struggled to find the words.

"Classy?" Ri supplied. She could understand his reaction. The Core words were wealthy, Dagelos was being stripped of its wealth. She wondered how much contact Dagelos would have once it was no longer useful.

"Well classy, wasn't what I was going for...but you have to admit, its different."

"I grew up here. Imagine what it was like for when I first came to Coruscant."

"Tourist."

Ri smiled. "Try frightened orphan."

Jaynor frowned. "You still beat us all."

"I had to."

"Why?"

It was right on the tip of her tongue, that she wanted to save Klayton. Well Klayton had been saved hadn't he? He was away from his Master, no longer associating with the Sith Empire, at least she hoped he wasn't. She felt the bond that connected them. He was alive for the moment. She didn't try to make contact with him. She didn't know what to say.

"I couldn't be the orphan girl and be worst in class." She settled on. "That would have been a disaster, I had to have at least one thing going for me."

"You had more than that going for you," Jaynor said gazing at her.

Silence fell between them as Ri turned away. Jaynor liked her, she knew. They had been close once but Ri was never going to be able to divulge any of her secrets to him. She had considered it once but he was so duty bound that he would have turned her in. And a connection to someone else, that he would never have understood.

She stared at the screen showing Dagelos. The ship was about to make the jump to hyper space when she saw it. The ship from her vision. It was an old Star Destroyer. She knew she wasn't imagining it when she heard Jaynor gasp.

Seneschal's ship made the jump.

"You are like a white water river," Seneschal's voice penetrated her thoughts. She glanced up at him startled.

"Sorry."

"What is it?"

"I wasn't expecting to see that vessel on Dagelos."

"I know," Seneschal replied. Jaynor was on the other side of him, the three of them on a bench waiting admission to the Grand Master's chambers.

Dara Shen, the Grand Master at the Coruscant Temple kept his office simple. There were no decorations and like the rest of the Temple. Most of it was white, except for his chair which was brown, the same as his robe. His tanned leathery skin marked his childhood spent on his home world. The ten braids he sported marked the number of years he had spent on the Jedi council away from his home world of Sriluur. It was a Weequay tradition. One braid per year.

"This Star Destroyer that was recently spotted near Dagelos?"

"It's been what, a millennium since we've seen one?"

Ri managed to keep her surprise in check.

Dara Shen glanced between the three Jedi Knights in front of him. He tugged a braid with his leathery fingers. "Take your freighter Seneschal...it is probably the most inconspicuous ship here. See what you can make of it." He paused. "And take them with you, the outer worlds are still suspicious of any Force user be it Sith or Jedi."

"What's the word on that?" Ri spoke up.

Dara glanced at Ri and shrugged. "Most are calling for the closing of the Temples. I won't pretend that they are in favor of the Jedi any longer. There are open calls to give the Sith Empire a seat and bring them in. As if they were a neighboring state and not bent on total conquer."

"Peace makes people soft."

Dara glanced at her. "I know your start in life was rough, but most people are glad for that peace."

"We'll check Dagelos Grand Master." Seneschal rose and bowed. "May the Force be with you."

"And you." Dara nodded. But inwardly he was concerned that there was something far bigger at play here. He kept his opinions to himself. They already had so many worries.

Seneschal led the two younger Jedi Knights behind him as they moved out of the room into the white hall together.

Ri followed behind Seneschal lost in her own thoughts when she glanced to the right and saw: _Klayton walking next to her. He looked uncomfortable in the white halls. He stood out in his black clothing and red hair. "Stop reading my thoughts." He grumbled._

She froze midstep. He wasn't there. Not really...the spot was empty.

Jaynor bumped into her arm and gave her a concerned look. She smiled, "Sorry," and moved forward again.

Was this another vision? Being on Coruscant she was much closer to the concentrated Force Energy. It was making her lose her mind. What would have persuaded Klayton to come to the Temple? She had no idea, but Seneschal had not noticed her pause lost in his own thoughts as he was. She hurried after him. They were returning to Dagelos again, trepidation filled her.

The Jump to Dagelos was made in silence. Ri was tense. Being a Guardian hadn't cooled her nerves, nor had it given her the cool calm expected of most Jedi. She had killed plenty of Sith in battle and so other than a few warnings about falling to the Dark Side she still went on missions. Until last month when she'd run into Klayton on Yavin 4.

They came out of hyperspace around Dagelos and both she, Jaynor and Seneschal lurched forward as an overwhelming void threatened to suck them in. It wasn't a physical void, but Dagelos was devoid of the Force itself so completely that they all felt sick.

"What happened?" Seneschal gasped glancing at her as she shrugged.

"We need to go down and see." Ri said grasping the back of the chair, at the same time fighting the urge to vomit.

Jaynor only nodded.

Ri was frightened of what they were going to see. There were no signals coming off the planet, no other ships moving in orbit.

It was dead.

"Anyone there?" Seneschal was trying to hail the spaceport and Ri didn't have the heart to tell him it was probably hopeless.

"Just land wherever," she whispered. "No one is going to answer."

Seneschal reached out with his senses and gasped. The ship lurched as he brought it down outside the city in a field.

As the ship landed she remembered her vision of Klayton and herself surrounded by death. Was he going to come here as well? He was always with her, so whatever it was they were going to do, it would be together.

There were bodies everywhere, the faces twisted with the agony they must have endured. Ships stopped, their drivers slumped in their seats. Their faces frozen in a scream of terror. They couldn't get away from whatever this was.

She moved forward and her boot hit a small body. It was some type of avian flying creature Ri knew as a Darikos Dragon, with two wings and four sets of legs on a feathered body. It too was dead, and as she looked closer every small creature that inhabited this world was dead. No bugs moved to clean the bodies away, even the usual flies were absent their tiny bodies probably littering the ground around a trash heap.

She briefly thought of the orphanage she and Klayton had called home and this time she couldn't stop herself. She sank to her knees and vomited on the dead surface of Dagelos.

Now she was well and truly orphaned, like the people of Alderaan in the old legends. Their world had been obliterated.

Ri glanced at Seneschal and Jaynor. They weren't faring much better. Spitting vomit away she braced herself and stood up. "Come on there is nothing else here," She said. "But I know now what's going to get Klayton off Telos."


	8. Chapter 8

_She came back._

Klayton was fully aware of Ri's presence the moment the pulled into orbit. She felt distraught. He pulled back from her, afraid to know more. Whatever she thought was going to happen had come to pass. However her emotions were seeping through and he couldn't help the anxiety that came with them. It was weakness. He hated himself for feeling it even if it was coming from Ri.

"Master..." Dag started. The holodroid was monitoring frequencies and picked up the ship right away.

"I know, I see her." Klayton frowned. She wasn't trying to call out to him as she'd done last time. She was just walking. He could sense every step and feel every crunch as if he was there too. The trek was still covered in snow, but it hadn't stopped her before and it wouldn't stop her now.

It was as if she was deliberately not thinking of whatever happened. _She learned how to block quickly._ But that only concerned him more. She was coming back here after whatever "IT" was had happened. It must concern him in some way.

It had been almost a week since she'd left in a rush. He had tried pushing the visit out of his mind; the thoughts that he should have gone with her; they persisted.

He wasn't concerned until the night he had awoken by a sensation in the Force. It was as if he was suffocating, and it pulled at him in a way he had never felt before. He felt the life being sucked out of him.

Something had happened. He knew Ri had been a part of it. Which meant the visions she'd been having were coming true.

Again.

"Eh, la merda!" He muttered getting up. The waiting was killing him. He slipped on his warm overcoat, gloves and went outside. The snow crunched under his boots but he figured if Ri could make it, as short as she was, he should have no problem. She was taking her time this time around and he was tired of waiting.

He pushed through the thick trees watching his own breath come out in puffs. Moving around a small bunched group he came upon her standing there waiting for him.

"Rí." He greeted her as she came into view. Even being able to hear her thoughts and sense her emotions had not prepared him for how she appeared. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying. Her face was pale, she looked drained. She kept clenching and unclenching her hands.

"Sorry if you hoped I wasn't going to come back."

He frowned. "I didn't say that."

"You don't have to," Rí sighed, studying him. "Your face says it all."

He rubbed a hand over his face, hoping to smooth out whatever she saw there. Dread, probably. Anticipation, fear, maybe...

Up close he knew that whatever she had had a vision of had definitely come to pass.

He saw it in the way she carried herself. Her hands were clenched, her lips quivered. But he could feel the sorrow in her through the link. One name kept repeating itself over and over again.

 _Dagelos._

"Klayton," Her shield slipped for a moment and he felt a great weight of sadness in her. He was still enough of a Sith to feel repulsed by it.

"What happened?" He demanded. He trembled now. His own fists clenched, and it took everything in him to not move forward to her and shake the answer out of her.

"Dagelos is gone." Her tone was dark and for a moment she wavered between sadness and revenge.

He felt like she had physically shoved him. He sank down into the snow. His hands covered his face. "How?" It was barely a whisper.

"The planet is still there," she sank down next to him and stared up through the dead trees into an empty blue sky. "They unleashed a weapon on it, something I've never seen before. It killed...everything."

Klayton balled his hands into fists over his head. His world, his people.

Gone.

Just like that.

 _I failed them._

"What could have done this?" She asked him. Her blue eyes were filled with tears when she turned to him. "Klayton, it was like the Force had been sucked out of the air, it was a void. There was nothing." She shuddered. "Everything was dead, but it was as if there had never been anything there to begin with."

They sat like that for a few moments both grieving in their own way until Klayton realized she was shivering.

"Come on," He said rising. He grabbed her arm and pulled her next to him. He didn't say a word until he reached his ship and dragged her in through the door out of the cold. The door slammed shut behind them. "Dag, we're leaving."

The droid was surprised but moved out of their way. "Of course."

Klayton turned back to Ri pushing her into a seat in front of him.

"Show me," he ordered. Mind reading was a talent of his. Ri could do it, but nowhere on the level that Klayton was capable or practiced at. He moved his chair closer to hers. For once their proximity did not bother either one of them. Or the fact that the last time Klayton had entered her mind it had been by force.

"Are you sure?" She whispered.

He hesitated. "I need to see what you saw."

Ri inhaled and steeled herself. She'd already had so many visions of Klayton being with her that she knew the Force was guiding her to trust him. Trusting a Sith was antithetical to everything she knew.

This was different. _He chose to let me live,_ she reminded herself.

Nodding she faced him and he took both of her hands. His hands swallowed her tiny fingers. It wasn't necessary for him but he could tell it helped her focus. He had to see it...what she was describing. He pushed into her mind as gently as he could...and she opened up to him.

 _...and he was there, seeing what she had seen through her eyes, feeling what she felt through her senses. He gasped against the emptiness, there was simply nothing, nothing to reach out to. It was almost like being deprived of oxygen. Even those who were not Force Sensitive would be able to feel this. The senses were dulled. Through her memories, he could see the bodies. Her revulsion and shock. The complete lack of life...or anything, her retching on the ground..._

 _He felt the void drawing at his mind. It sucked the life out of him pulling at him with a sense of wrongness that defied explanation. He felt himself falling..._

 _"Klayton!" Ri's voice sounded so far away..._

...and his eyes snapped open. He was back in his own mind staring up at Ri from the floor.

Rí was on the floor next to him, a hand on his forehead. Dag stood over them both, clasping his hands together. Klayton made a note to program the droid for medical services.

"You went there?" He stared up at her from the floor.

"I had to." She pulled her hand back and twisted them in her lap looking down at them.

"I don't know how you stood that." Admiration was in his voice.

"I had to see it for myself. Something was wrong, I..." _I failed them_. She went quiet, next to him, hands clasped in her lap. "Do you know anything?"

"Rí there are so many ancient Sith legends," Klayton hesitated. His head was killing him and he dropped a hand onto his forehead. The memory had shaken him to the core, but he knew that it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been standing on the planet itself.

He came to a decision then.

"Take me there," he said suddenly grabbing her arm, she flinched at the grip but he didn't see it. He tried sitting up the rest of the way on his own but didn't complain when she reached over and pulled him up. He literally felt drained. The headache pulsed as he sat up and then receded.

 _Lord Vitiate._ The name popped into his mind out of nowhere.

He knew what this was, he had seen this before, in an ancient text. It was a myth. Older than the legends, one of their own defeating death. The only part they left out was simply how the Ancient Sith had died. There were no records indicating that he had. He was no longer in the records. No record of his defeat existed. Or of his death. He'd been attempting to defeat death.

Someone else was picking up where he left off...

 _Saw us standing in a circle of bodies..._ Her words flashed back to him in an instant. The visions were coming back. They were not frightened children this time. They could do something...

Anything...

Someone had tried to become a god. Vitiate had almost succeeded. Or perhaps he had? Klayton remembered the ancient texts. Not many studied them anymore, but Klayton had pored over them looking for ways to take Dagelos back. The evidence would be there.

He was certain of it.

There would be bodies.

Thousands of them.

Klayton hesitated as he stared at Ri. _Whose side am I on anyway?_


	9. Chapter 9

It was an odd ride down to the freighter with Dag & Ri both on the speeder with a few of Klayton's odds and ends. He even brought a guitar with him, a musical instrument with both strings and keys.

Dag managed all of Klayton's supplies and insisted on placing himself between Ri and Klayton. There was no trust between the droid and Ri.

When the freighter loomed ahead Klayton faced it with trepidation. There were two other Jedi on board. At least one of them hated his guts. _Culo,_ he kept his thoughts to himself. At least he thought he had, behind him and Dag, Ri smiled as she heard Klayton mentally called Jaynor an ass in their native tongue.

The ship opened and the walkway descended towards the ground. The first Jedi appeared and Klayton stiffened and then relaxed. He recognized Seneschal from Yavin 4. At least this Jedi would have no reason to suspect his motives.

"Ah, we meet again." Seneschal greeted Klayton with an outstretched hand.

Klayton pausing for a second, took the proffered hand of the Jedi, releasing it quickly.

 _I remember him,_ he sent to Ri as he followed the elder Jedi onto the ship.

 _He remembers you._ She replied back. She was as distracted as he felt. He realized he was ready to get off this ship and figure out what had happened to their home world.

"Master, I really must protest, your odds of survival have gone down with every Jedi you have incurred on this trip." Dag looked around. "Are you sure this is the course of action you want to take?"

"Yes, Dag stand down. If one of them knocks me out you have my permission to take revenge." His tone was light but Ri glanced at him with a lifted eyebrow.

"What?" He stared at her waiting for her to say something.

"No one will harm your master, Dag." Ri said finally turning away.

"Speak for yourself." Jaynor's voice floated from behind Seneschal. Seneschal stopped and gave Jaynor a warning glance not missed by the younger Jedi.

"Jaynor Wik, this is Klayton." Jaynor took in Klayton's appearance. From the black Sith armor and clothing, he wore to the bright red mohawk he sported.

He smirked. "I don't suppose you would do us the courtesy of disarming yourself?"

Klayton stiffened and was about to make a reply when Seneschal interrupted the exchange.

"That is not necessary." Seneschal interceded. Jaynor looked at the elder Jedi in surprise.

Even Ri's jaw was hanging open. She'd half expected Seneschal to agree. _I should be taking up his defense, not Seneschal._ Ri mentally kicked herself. She would have to push away the sadness for now. It wouldn't help find answers.

"Klayton if you would follow me, I will show you to your cabin."

Klayton and Dag swept by Jaynor who turned to Ri. "How did you get him to come?"

"Dagelos is our home world." Ri glanced up at him. "He wants to see it." She moved past Jaynor not wanting to continue the conversation any further. She could sense the disapproval already.

Ri put one foot in front of the other. It was all she could manage, hoping she could just get into her room without bumping into anyone else. Hoping against hope that Jaynor would stay behind for once.

If he didn't she felt like she would snap.

The door appeared in front of her and she escaped inside barely keeping it together. As soon as she heard it close the dam broke. She collapsed to the floor unable to stop herself from sobbing. Her body shook uncontrollably as she struggled to keep her voice down. She wrapped her arms around herself and laid there until she cried herself out.

In his room, Klayton felt the change in Ri. He cursed inwardly as he felt the wall of sorrow hit him. He swore a few more times. Any Jedi would be able to sense her sadness but because of how they had connected he was more than sensing it. His own shoulders shook with it, but along with the sadness, there was the anger and hate which fed him. He used the hatred toward the Jedi order and the Republic they protected to fuel him all these years.

And Ri was managing to take that away by crying?

 _I shouldn't care!_ He pounded a fist against the wall. _I should have cut the bond..._

But he did care about Dagelos and now Ri was all he had left of it. He sank down to the floor and put his head against the wall staring at nothing. The news hadn't hit him yet, he knew he might end up just like Ri when he set foot on the surface.

"Master?" Dag called from across the room. "Is there something I can get you? Or perhaps a duel?"

"Shut down, Dag. For the night, just do it."

Dag went silent and still. The order was not one he could argue. Klayton had made sure of that when he'd tinkered with his programming. It was given in Dageli. Klayton was certain that not many people would be able to use the phrase, let alone his voice, _there were even fewer people now._

He returned his mind to Ri again. He felt tired, in more ways than he should at 33. His rage was leaving him. There was nothing to be angry at. His world, his birthright, his people...

With the exception of one.

He fell asleep with his back against the wall.

* * *

Klayton sensed the void as soon as they arrived in orbit with Dagelos. It was the same empty sensation he'd experienced in Ri's mind. The same feeling of wrongness.

Rí stood next to him and watched the planet get closer as they descended. He snuck a glance at her face. She looked strained and he wondered if he was wearing the same expression on his face. He pulled his hair out of his face pushing it off to the side.

They entered the void.

His hands gripped the rail in front of them. Rí reached over and placed a hand on top of his much to the chagrin of the other Jedi Knights present. He pulled away. He wasn't showing any weakness in front of the Jedi. If she could do this, so could he.

Dag tisked at the contact but a look from Klayton kept the droid from making any remarks.

The brief contact made him think of Yavin 4 again.

The memory washed over him before he could stop it. Along with the guilt that seemed to always follow.

 _When Rí had found him after the fighting on Yavin 4 she had tried to persuade him to return with her. He was so suspicious of everything that he had invaded her mind. He was a Sith, so there was nothing gentle about what he had done. She was the enemy._

 _He had held her by the throat against the ground and stared into her eyes making sure that she felt every bit of rage that could send into her._

 _"Have you come to kill me Rí?" His voice was harsh and spittle had pelted her face as he yelled at her. She didn't even bother to fight him. She just hung in his grip, his hands wrapped tightly around her throat, her tiny hands holding his larger ones._

 _But when he'd ripped into her thoughts he did not find what he thought would be there. Only the idea that she could save him. That she would save him. He had pulled out quickly feeling deeply ashamed of his suspicions._

 _She had turned over and vomited once he released her. Violating someone's mind like that against their will was excruciatingly painful for them. She could have fought him, she was powerful enough to resist him, but she hadn't._

 _She wanted him to see._

 _He had begged her forgiveness, even offering his light saber._

 _Rí had wrapped her tiny arms around him instead and cried._

Klayton shook his head as the memory faded. He was painfully aware of her small hand on his much larger one again. This time she did not allow him to move it. _What was that?_

 _Nothing, I'm fine._

 _No, you're not._

 _Leave it alone._

The guilt didn't fade though. Especially considering he hadn't changed his ways. He was still a Sith and she was still a Jedi. He had no plans to change either of those facts.

He would, however, get revenge. Ri would help him, he was certain. Persuading her wouldn't be that hard.

The tall dark haired Jedi did not mince words and was mostly silent. Klayton often found the older man's dark brown eyes studying him. But the younger of the two, Jaynor, eyed Klayton with full contempt. He had at first tried keeping Ri away from Klayton. But it became evident that this was not going to be possible. Ri outranked Jaynor and no argument he could make was going to change her mind.

When Rí had mentioned to Seneschal that Klayton might know the cause they had flown straight to Telos.

But this...

He glanced out the surface again, reaching out with the Force he tried to sense anything but there was nothing. Just emptiness something that had been torn violently away. Something that should not be. Even to a Sith, it was repugnant.

He was suddenly very sure his earlier guess was correct...

"There will be bodies," he shifted his hands from the rail and back to his sides.

But Jaynor only nodded. "Of course there will be, this whole planet is dead."

"No," Klayton said," eyeing him. "There will be Sith bodies, this required a ritual of some sort, they'll probably be arranged in a circle. This was someone trying to become a god."

Seneschal stared at Klayton for a moment. "Who would do such a thing?"

"There are a few who would vie for that kind of power." Klayton shrugged. "Anyone who doesn't want to die." He was ready to leave but he could sense the disbelief. Rí said nothing. She knew he was telling the truth.

He suddenly wanted nothing more than to go back to his home. His fingers itched to hold his guitar, to be locked away alone. He wanted to deny the destruction in front of him, the taking of all life that had occurred. It didn't make sense for any Sith to strip the life away like this and yet they had participated fully. He knew Seneschal wanted to find the bodies before he would believe him. But Klayton wanted to run, get Ri away from this place as soon as possible.

Dagelos was lost to him. But not the one remaining Dageli he had left.

Rí entwined her fingers into his. "We'll find them quickly."

He didn't pull away this time. But he did fight another surge of guilt. He kept his face pointed away from hers.

"Stop reading my mind."

"I can't help it." She tightened her grip on his hand as the ship moved closer to Dagelos, nausea was building up inside of him. Jaynor frowned at them again. It was no longer against the Jedi code for a Jedi to have a relationship. Years ago, the requirement had been done away with. It had created more problems than it helped. But her familiarity with Klayton was wearing thin.

Dag shifted his stance managing to place himself between Klayton and Jaynor this time. The droid had assessed each individual and come to the conclusion that Ri was not a threat, however, misguided the relationship between her and his master was. Jaynor Wik, however, displayed all the aggression Dag believed his master needed to show. And Seneschal was an anomaly altogether. Seneschal for his part studied the landscape ignoring the building tension.

"Any ideas?" Seneschal's eyes swept back and forth. "I don't want to fly rings all around the planet, we aren't exactly equipped for that."

 _Somewhere secluded?_ He sent to Ri. She nodded.

"Maybe the Sangue Desert?" Ri said out loud. It was the largest desert on Dagelos.

Klayton paused thinking, his eye had caught something as they flew out into the desert. "There." He pointed and Seneschal steered the ship in that direction. "It would be the center of largest desert away from anyone who might take notice."

And there it was...

There lying on the ground in a large circle was a group of black covered bodies. They lay where they fell, sprawled in the sand. Thousands of them.

Even Jaynor was silent this time. He recorded the images to the ships internal computers to bring back to the council. Rí had a death grip on Klayton's hand now. He winced his own emotions in turmoil. "Scan the area," Seneschal's fingers moved over the Nav center of his freighter. He glanced over at Klayton who stood transfixed.

They did not bother to get out of the ship. They, now more than ever, wanted to be away from Dagelos. Klayton knew that whichever Sith had sucked the life out of this place was still out there.

As they moved away from Dagelos once more, Klayton was struck with how different the Dark side of the Force felt.

Not being shared by so many it swelled under the surface. It was an ocean now; he could just reach in pull what he wanted, and there was more. He dared not. He had no idea who had the power to strip the Force from the planet, not to mention all other life on it. While he'd read of others draining the lives of subjects slowly, this was the first time he had seen this all at once. It disturbed him to see the bodies of presumably loyal Sith used up and discarded in such a way. And why Dagelos?

 _Was it a message to me personally? I'm only an apprentice, who knows who I am?_

There was one thing that a Sith did not do well and that was share power.

He knew without a doubt that whoever had done this, would set their sights on him soon enough. He had killed his master. Left his post. Broken the rules. He was competition.

This time it was his grip that tightened on Rí's hand.

"Ri, he's a Sith," Jaynor followed Ri onto the dining area later. It was a small chamber of the ship that Seneschal kept well stocked due to his many missions. Like everything else on the ship, it was white. The chairs, the tables, all bolted to their positions.

Ri had just left Klayton in his room. The closer she was in proximity to him the more she felt their connection to each other. He felt disturbed at the moment and she couldn't blame him. She still wondered that he'd never severed their connection. But even so, he wanted to be alone.

"I know he's a Sith," she snapped rounding on her friend. "But he can be trusted."

"What makes you so sure?" Jaynor's eyes bored deep into hers attempting to corner her.

Ri turned away with her shoulders slumped. "When we were kids, we were best friends." She managed.

"You were kids," Jaynor said crossing his arms. "Things change."

"You don't understand," Ri said turning back around and facing him. "He saved my life, if it wasn't for him I would have been taken by the Sith, not him. He saved me."

Jaynor was silent. A few things suddenly fell into place about Ri. Seneschal entered the room. "That's a heavy burden to take on."

"I owe a life debt."

"You can't be serious." Jaynor couldn't keep the incredulity out of his voice. "I know Wookies practice life debts, but you? You are a Jedi. You can't owe anyone except the Jedi Order. The Force."

"My people are gone, my customs, I've kept the Dageli practice. " Ri couldn't keep the anger out of her voice and her hands shook as she rounded on Jaynor.

"Your loyalty is to the Order," he stepped forward.

"He saved me again on Yavin 4," She flicked a glance over at Seneschal. "You saw him, you know it's true."

"So now you are going to save him?" Jaynor couldn't quite keep the skepticism out of his voice.

"He doesn't need me to save him. He left the Empire already."

"Enough!" Seneschal shot Jaynor a warning glance and Jaynor closed his mouth. "Klayton has agreed to go to Coruscant and he is an ally. Let's respect that for now." He nodded to Ri. "You'll keep an eye on him?"

"Of course, if not Dag will watch his back."

"If he doesn't go on a killing spree on Coruscant." Jaynor muttered.

"Jaynor I believe you need to master the controls of this particular vessel?" Seneschal guided Jaynor from the room.

Ri remained sitting for a long time long after Seneschal had departed the dining area. The tables offered no answer to her unspoken questions.

His one act saving her all those years ago had come full circle to this.

Not to mention the fact that he hadn't killed her last year, rather he saved her from his Master instead. The visions she had managed to thus far hide. None of it made sense. It was as if all of space and time were zeroing in on these one moments in her life.

 _What am I missing?_

She didn't dare try to use the Force to see the future herself. Nothing good ever came of knowing.

Then there was the Force itself, which for some reason said to trust him.

Nothing made sense.

 _Yes,_ she thought to herself. _This is the right course of action. But, why?_

Everything the Jedi Order had taught her about the Force was being tested. Trust your feelings, let the Force guide you. Could she have prevented what happened on Dagelos if she'd been more open?

Klayton's state of mind burst in on her like a tidal wave. The rage unspent was being taken out on his room. She got up and ran to him unsure of what else to do.

He was in turmoil.

Klayton lay across the floor on his back staring at the ceiling. First, he had sat on the bed clenching his fists then he'd simply torn the pillows off of the bed and thrown them across the room, followed by the bed.

That not satisfying his anger, he hurled the table, chair, both wrenched from the floor and the lamp.

"Master..." Dag began picking up the bed, easily moving it.

"Leave it!" Klayton hurled it back against the wall again, the latest attempt undoing whatever emotional control he had left. He spun off balance and hit the floor on his side. Curling into the fetal position he sobbed in a way he hadn't since he'd been taken from Dagelos as a young boy. He could feel Ri's concern through the bond and for once seriously considered severing it right there on the spot. He didn't want the reminder that his world was gone.

The guilt came on full force. Those were his people. He should have been there, should have gotten the Republic off Dagelos.

 _Should have..._

 _Should have..._

Dag backed away as objects rose off the floor.

And suddenly Ri was there in the room kneeling next to him. He hadn't heard her come in. But he felt her arms around his shoulders.

Everything hit the floor again.

"You can pick those up now, Dag." She whispered to the startled Droid. Dag nodded and proceeded to clean up. He was used to Klayton's moodiness but he'd never seen his master lose control like this.

Ri bent over him and kept her arms around him until he was still. She smoothed his hair out of his face like a mother would a child.

 _I'm sorry_ , he sent to her.

 _Don't be. I understand_

 _No_ , he took a deep breath. _I'm sorry I didn't come with you the first time. I should have. Maybe I could have stopped-_

"Don't," She spoke out loud. "Neither one of us could have stopped this. We didn't know."

"You did...and I didn't listen."

"I didn't know this EXACTLY. But I promise I'm going to find whoever did this...I swear it."

Klayton sat up and moved away from her touch. "No, we will. I'm coming with you. I don't care where you are going."

Ri said nothing for a moment. They had both just sworn revenge. She was supposed to uphold justice, but she didn't want justice at the moment. Her fists clenched. She wanted to kill the individual responsible. She was ashamed of herself for it, but it couldn't be helped. One look at Klayton told her he felt the same way, minus the shame.

* * *

Klayton held his guitar, strumming a few chords. Before the war as a young child, he had aspired to be a musician. He'd had such an affinity for music that he could play anything he put his hands on. His guitar came with the usual strings but also keys that he could strum simultaneously.

The melody was haunting.

Ri had left him earlier after she was certain he was all right. He was exhausted but he wasn't going to return to his self-imposed exile. Maybe later, but right now revenge was what he wanted.

The door opened and Seneschal came in stopping just inside the doorway. Klayton put down the guitar reluctantly.

The Jedi regarded him for a moment. "You play well."

"In another life maybe," Klayton set it aside. "How may I be of assistance, Jedi?"

Seneschal ignored the sneer that Klayton placed on the last word. He folded his hands for a moment. "I wanted to thank you for showing us what to look for today. I saw how hard it was for both of you."

Klayton said nothing, suddenly wishing Seneschal would just leave. Music was easier than people. People required words, apologies, feelings, things he didn't want to deal with.

Seneschal must have sensed his reluctance. He turned to leave through the door quickly. "That's all I wanted to say."

He glanced at the guitar again. "You are a strange Sith. Rí was right to ask for your council. I will be adding a good word to hers in any event."

Klayton was stunned for a moment. "Thanks... I think."

"You hold her in your thoughts. A bright spot in all that darkness." Seneschal's thick brown eyebrow shot up daring Klayton to argue.

"We've known each other since childhood," Klayton protested, "and I would nev—"

"Don't bother to deny it." Seneschal grinned. "You may try hiding it a bit more when you get to Coruscant. That place is a nightmare." Seneschal left. It was the first time Klayton had seen the Jedi actually crack a grin.

It took Klayton a moment to realize that the Jedi had in fact just made a joke at his expense. He didn't understand it. He ran his hands through his hair again, pulling the red and black strands to the right in front of his face again. Hiding the scar over his eye.

Klayton picked up his guitar thinking about this strange turn of events.

His eventual goal was getting home; not ruling, nor finding a place in the Sith Empire. Toppling the Galactic Republic would never have hurt his feelings. But it was never his goal.

What was his goal now? There was nothing left, no reason for him to return home. No Dageli to rescue. He was heading to Coruscant.

 _To help the enemy?_ He sighed. _Who was the enemy this time? Whose side was he really on?_

 _Revenge._ He answered his own question.

"Dag!" The droid brightened up at the tone of his Master's voice. "Let's duel. I think I'll need the practice for where we're going."

"Yes, Master!" The Droid's body shifted into a hologram of a Jedi and Klayton drew his light saber to practice. It would take his mind off of Ri for a bit.


	10. Chapter 10

The ship touched down with a shudder on Coruscant.

Klayton felt his pulse quicken with the jolt. He took a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves. He was about to walk into enemy territory. He still wasn't sure how Ri had convinced him to go this far but she had told him his information was invaluable. Somehow, he was here despite his misgivings. His animosity towards the Jedi had not changed. His fingers clinched and unclenched at his sides.

"Master," Dag stood in the doorway barring his way. "I understand that you may feel the need to be here. But going out there is going to decrease your chances of survival drastically."

"Dag stay here." Klayton ordered firmly. "In this room. Power down if you are bored. But do not get off this ship."

He turned and walked out of his room and ran straight into Ri.

Ri held her hands up in front. "I came to see if you were ready."

His light saber was in Ri's belt. She had also managed to convince him to go without it.

"Understand something Ri," His fists clenched as he spoke and he was visibly tense "I'm here to avenge Dagelos. I always wanted to return and take back my world from the Republic. This," he gestured in a circle. "is our common enemy."

"I know but—"

"We were friends as children." He answered. "Children." He repeated. "This bond I created as a child, it was an accident. Nothing more. It doesn't mean anything beyond this."

Ri wasn't sure if he was trying to convince her or himself. Because his mind was open to hers she hear the echoing thought that came with the statement. _Nothing more._

Then he slammed the bond closed so hard that Ri actually jumped. His eyes narrowed and she knew he'd caught her listening.

 _Vaffancula, better this way._ Klayton thought to himself. Revenge and then leaving Ri behind forever.

He brushed past her and went outside alone taking a deep breath as he went. Outside a solemn gathering of thousands of Jedi stood in front of the platform greeted him with silence.

Seneschal came next to him. "Women," he said, "They seem to be able to get us to where we don't want to go don't they?"

Klayton just stared at him, not offering a reply. He still wasn't sure what to make of Ri's former master. The older man shrugged and walked out first. He was followed by Jaynor who bumped into Klayton from behind, knocking him off balance. Klayton's hand formed a fist. Ri came up next to him and slipped an arm through his. He relaxed but he glared at her.

She remained just as closed off as he was mentally.

 _Don't sink to his level_. The words forced their way in. Klayton shot a look at her raising an eyebrow and then walked forward following Jaynor and Seneschal off the ship. Ri stayed beside him.

He heard her inhale deeply and felt anxiety pulsing out of her. Klayton realized that she was just as nervous as he was about his arrival. He promised himself to give her grief about it later.

If they made it back.

"Ri," He made one last appeal, "Are you sure I need to be here."

"It won't be as believable coming from me." She shrugged. She'd had a vision of him being here and here he was. It was odd, he contrasted with everything here completely. Her armed tightened on his. Jaynor looked back and saw the arm and his face tightened. _Well that's worth it._ Klayton decided, tolerating Ri's hold on him. There was something about the Jedi Knight that rubbed him the wrong way.

He shifted his attention back to Ri.

"You know I can sense how you really feel about this." He pointed a finger to her head and then his.

She looked away, "...and I thought we weren't going to look into each other's minds."

"Vaffanculo...I'm a Sith." _La merda! Look at you, just as nervous as I am!_

"Essere un coglione," Ri replied in return.

Klayton's eyebrows shot up. He smiled suddenly. "So you do remember your time in the orphanage."

She blushed, "sorry, I actually try to spend as much time off Coruscant as possible."

"La merda, but you bring me here?"

"Seemed like a necessary evil."

His eyebrow shot up. "Did you just crack a joke?"

"You're the Sith," She pulled his arm and forced them both to walk faster through the crowd behind Seneschal and Jaynor.

Klayton could hardly picture the pair they made. He was dressed completely in black with his red Mohawk parted to one side. There was no way to explain its meaning. Here, it looked extravagant. Ri was wearing her own brown Jedi robes, her face tattoos and blue streaked hair stood out among the other Jedi.

Their audience wore mostly white with the brown robes here and there. The silence was broken by a few whispers.

Deep down he knew Ri was right, even if he didn't want to have anything to do with the Jedi he still needed their help if they were going to defeat whoever or whatever had stolen the lives of everyone on Dagelos.

He still felt sick on the inside as he stepped off the ramp behind Seneschal. There was a quite the audience as a Sith had not been seen inside the Temple since it had been destroyed by one many millennia ago.

He felt the contrasts between himself and his audience, but his senses also felt the pull of the light here. It was an alluring song that was singing to him in the background. It was compelling and repulsive at the same time. He couldn't make himself reach out for it. For him it was completely at odds with the faded Jedi. They seemed to have no life.

Klayton knew he must appear harmless before the Jedi. He had no intention of harming anyone here unless they made a move at him. He felt like the black sheep being led to the slaughter as all the pretty little white perfect lambs looked on, accusingly.

 _You don't belong with us._

Technically he was their guest. Although not a particularly welcome one.

An escort was waiting in front of the crowd. "We will take him from here." A white haired Jedi guard told Ri.

"No problem." Jaynor started while at the same time Ri said, "I got it." Moving in front of Klayton.

"You must appear before the council immediately." He indicated Seneschal as well. "All three of you."

"All four of us," Seneschal surprised Klayton and Ri coming back to stand next to Klayton. "This Sith is not a prisoner but a guest, a friend, I thought I made that clear."

"Yes...but-"

"But nothing." Seneschal, who was actually considered a master, had the authority and rank and used it now. "We shall escort Klayton to the council, what he has to say needs to be heard by them. He MUST tell us what he knows and he is here now. You may follow behind us, if you choose."

The guard stepped back and nodded. The audience who had been dead quiet began to whisper and mutter among themselves.

Klayton stopped suddenly. He nodded to the guard. "Could you return these please?" He pulled out a bag and handed it to the guard who's eyes narrowed for a moment.

When the guard reached into the bag he pulled out a light saber. He stared at Klayton.

"They were left behind by the last envoy." Klayton smiled.

Ri had to stifle a grin. _Don't..._

The guards faced reddened. Ri wondered if he was one of the ones who'd been sent to Klayton the first time.

Seneschal stared at the bag, then looked toward Klayton and shook his head.

Klayton shrugged and grinned. _Couldn't resist._

 _Don't get us killed before we even get to the council._

 _I thought Jedi were calm, collected...peaceful._

 _Maybe...but lately..._

Seneschal proceeded forward. "Follow me please."

They walked down a long hallway and Klayton glanced around at the white buildings. It seems just as the Sith had a fondness for black, the Jedi were all about keeping things white. He was honestly surprised they wore brown robes instead of white ones. _Blood probably stands out too much on white_ , he decided.

Ri walked next to him instead of behind him. "If I'm next to you that tells everyone we are not enemies," she had explained. "Walking behind you will mean that I'm not your friend, and I must watch every move."

"Is everything so political here?" He asked feeling stuffed. His long black coat dragged slightly on the floor.

"They prefer that most people see everything as going well, your visit could mean that a truce with the Sith Empire is at hand, depending on how the council wishes to spin it."

Klayton almost stopped walking. "Spin it? We just saw a whole planet... OUR planet killed and you think they will spin it into a reconciliation?" He wasn't sure if she believed it, he hoped not. It was ridiculous. And it made him angry.

"THEY might..." Ri hesitated. "I'm just a Knight. Probably won't advance to the council."

"Only because you don't get along to go along." Seneschal's voice came from in front of them.

Jaynor raised his voice. "They aren't that bad."

Seneschal glanced back at them. "Honestly they could use a reality check. And we're about to give them one."

Jaynor subsided and sent Klayton a dirty look. Klayton understood. Jaynor was ambitious. He wanted that position of authority.

Seneschal's last sentence came back to him.

Klayton wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. He glanced at Ri.

"Just tell them what you know about...the ritual performed." Her face clouded over.

"Stop." He sighed. He just wanted a room he could hide in and be alone for a while. He missed his isolation. Worse he knew Ri couldn't help it. He had made the connection. They had loved it when they were kids. It wasn't so great now that they were grown and on opposite sides.

Ri put a hand on his arm. He was about to tell her to stop reading his mind again but simply stayed silent. Maybe she would leave her hand there for a while. It was steadying, and at least she didn't loathe him completely like everyone else here.

Behind them the Jedi guards following them exchanged glances.

Klayton wondered if the four Jedi he had sent back before were around somewhere. Now that would be ironic, since they had come after him the first time looking for his help.

He reached out with his mind feeling mostly the light side of the Force...and there it was. Someone who was toeing the line to the dark side. He was so startled he almost stopped walking. If he could sense them, couldn't everyone?

Toeing the line wasn't the same as crossing it however. A wry grin split his face. Not necessarily as pure here as they wanted everyone to believe.

After what seemed to be an eternity of walking they came to the doors.

Tall white doors meant to show the importance of the members behind it. Klayton wondered if they understood how it separated them and put them up as superior to the rest of the Universe.

The doors opened and they were ushered inside.

Inside the room the walls were painted white, the floor was painted white. The chairs were white circular with brown cushions on them, but no backs. There were twelve council members, only two were there in person, with ten showing up as holograms in their chairs.

Klayton glanced around the room and was glad that Seneschal was standing directly in front of him. Jaynor was behind him. He was still the enemy here and he could feel the tension in the room as several members craned their necks to see behind Seneschal. His black outfit and bright red and black hair certainly set him apart from every other person in the room. He could feel Ri's amusement next to him through their bond. He wasn't sure what to make of that, she long ago dropped her hand off his arm before entering.

He missed the physical touch as soon as it was gone.

Was he really going to turn himself into a hermit?

"What is the meaning of this?" Dara Shen, stood. "I was very specific on where the Sith was supposed to go."

Ri tensed visibly, Klayton noticed. She kept herself closed off from him now but her frustration still flowed out. Even after his talk with her earlier. He wasn't sure what to make of her.

"He's a guest." Seneschal repeated firmly. "What he knows needs to be said. And only he can say it with any surety."

"He sent back a request before," another council member piped up. This was an Aleena, an extremely short squat creature, whose feet did not quite reach the floor. He was the only other council member physically present. He sat with his legs crossed on the cushion. Klayton imagined it was to protect his dignity. He was also fascinated, he'd never seen an Aleena before. Only heard about them, mostly as having a hardened warrior society. But seeing this creature before him he couldn't quite believe it.

The creature swung it's face towards Klayton and he felt the sensation of being probed mentally. But it only brushed the surface. Next to him he could feel Ri's anger which she managed to suppress. That surprised him as well. Jedi were supposed to be calm, cool, and collected.

Ri was suddenly a storm.

The council...he wondered what the Sith had been waiting for. This lax they could be easily taken. He was standing there with his eye brow raised listening to Seneschal show the images to the council as they'd moved past him.

 _Do not voice that out loud_. Ri's voice filled his mind.

"Don't do that." He managed in a loud whisper. Several heads turned towards them

She didn't smile at all this time. _That expression of disgust is stuck all over your face. Stop it._ She sent mentally.

Klayton rubbed his face with his hands and listened again. He plastered a smile on his face, hoping it looked less threatening, because while disgust might have shown on his face he could feel it seeping from Ri, she was just as frustrated at the slowness of the chamber. _I hate politics._

 _Don't we all._

"The planet is void of anything holding the force at all." Seneschal continued. "I don't know the reason for it, just that per Klayton, this was a ritual performed."

All eyes turned to Klayton. He glanced at Ri, who nodded encouragingly, appeased that he was getting to speak. He wanted his light-saber. He tried thinking of the reason he'd come here in the first place.

He glanced around the room and then looked toward the images still projecting in the middle of the room. Pointing to the closest one, which happened to be of the dead Sith arranged in a circle he began. "This is someone who wants to be immortal, to be a god." He paused glancing around the room.

"This ritual has two parts. One can be performed on a planet scale, the other is galactic." He paused again, he had everyone's attention now. "I've studied the records, even some that were deemed ancient. This Sith Lord lived for thousands of years expanding his knowledge. If he had ever performed the second part of the ritual, none of us would be standing here now." Klayton stopped and stepped back, believing he was done.

But the council was not finished him. "What do you mean Immortal?" The Aleena questioned him.

Klayton shrugged, "I thought that was obvious, he or she wants to live forever?"

Ri kicked him in the leg, and even Seneschal couldn't quite hide the grin.

The Aleena through his stubby arms up into the air. "Can you describe this ritual in more detail or not?"

Klayton took a deep breath, this was why he had come here. Not to join them but to convince them of the danger. He was still a Sith in manner and thinking. And sitting in this room with the leaders of the enemy made him queasy. But he knew that the Sith alone could not hold back a leader who chose to wipe out his own soldiers for more power. _The enemy of my enemy is my friend,_ he thought, swallowing some pride. Although he had abandoned the Sith cause, mostly because of Ri, the Jedi still brought out a feeling of disgust in him.

But he still had to convince them.

"I can't describe it in it's entirety, only the first part has been performed. Those Sith you see here, they used the Dark Side to draw out the life force of the planet, and put it into...someone. I don't know who... But what they probably didn't now was that the force doesn't stop flowing until everyone participating in the ritual, willing or not is dead. It's for the one individual, not the many. The first time it was performed was by a Lord Vitiate. Those participating were not told the outcome. Only fed on their hopes. It probably happened the same way this time." Klayton paused for a breath.

"He destroyed his own world and thousands of loyal followers, but used their life forces to give himself immortality. There were tons of things he could do that have not been done since he disappeared."

"But he did eventually die..." The Aleena spoke again.

"I honestly don't know," Klayton scrambled his own mind trying to recall any mention of the death of this particular Lord. He'd had many names, but his death wasn't recorded. "He reigned for thousands of years. Letting this one live isn't an option. You don't know what the end game is here. If they are willing to destroy their own followers then this sets everything I've ever known about Sith on it's head. I didn't believe this was possible until I saw the planet in Ri's memories-"

There was a collective gasp from the room. "He didn't force me." Ri interjected. "I showed him because I wanted him to see it. It was his home world too." Jaynor stared at Ri with a mixture of pity and disgust.

"Yes, yes," Dara Shen spoke again. "I'm sorry for you both. But what can be done to stop this, this madness?"

"You'll have to kill him." Klayton said. To him the answer was obvious. There was no reasoning with such an individual. They would simply keep trying until they succeeded.

The room exploded with noise. Most of the Council was on its feet talking at once. Klayton stepped back surprised. But no one was paying him any attention anymore.

Jaynor was behind him. "Don't go anywhere Sith."

Dara Shen the Grand Master stood up holding his arms for quiet. Order was restored but the tension had not eased.

"Seneschal if you would stay and take council with us." Dara Shen paused. "Please take, er, Klayton to the prison block for now."

"BUT-" Ri exploded. Again, Klayton was shocked at the tempest inside of her.

"Young lady, he cannot roam the Temple. He will be treated with respect, but he must also be protected from those here that would do him harm. You know they exist."

Klayton put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't, I'll be fine, just check on Dag? And maybe bring my gitar? Please?" He turned to follow the guards out. He was more relieved than anything. A prison he could endure for a while. Political bickering was enough to make even the craziest Alien want to hang itself.

Ri subsided and said nothing over the insult. Calling her young lady in front of the council was a way of telling her she was out of line and behaving improperly. Public shaming at its finest. Klayton removed his hand after noticing the shared looks of disapproval between the council members. He hadn't done her any favors here by being so familiar with her.

When Ri turned to follow him, Dara Shen called out to her. "You are not dismissed yet Ri. A moment if for you and Jaynor also, if you would."

Seneschal looked at Klayton, sorrow exuded from him. "I'll stop by and talk later with you." He said.

Klayton nodded. He followed the guards to his cell, once again feeling like a black sheep in a perfect society that he would never fit into. Not that he wanted to, he reminded himself. He began to understand Ri's temper a little better. How constrained she must feel here.

The guards put him into a cell, which was comfortable but boring. He took off his long coat and laid on the bed. In the silence he let his mind go over everything he had seen so far.

It was Ri who showed up outside the door a few hours later. A guard opened the door. She came in tentatively with his bag carrying his gitar.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't want you trapped in here like this."

"I expected it," Klayton replied sitting up. "How's Dag?"

"The ship is spotless." She smiled. "He wants to know when he is able to come out."

Klayton chuckled. The Droid was probably bored. He could contact him via commlink but the Holodroid would need to stay where he was. At least in Klayton's mind. He did not want the Jedi picking Dag apart.

"Can't I have that?" He held his hand out for the instrument in Ri's hands.

"Of course," she passed the gitar gently and their fingers brushed. It sent a thrill up Klayton's fingertips but he did his best not to show it and fumbled open the bag for a moment without looking at her. He certainly did not want her to see THAT on his face. He was having a hard enough time shielding his emotions through the bond.

"Can I listen?" Guilt was radiating off her in waves. Klayton wanted to tell her not to feel that way, but he closed his mouth. He still felt guilty for Yavin 4. He would never stop feeling guilty about that.

Besides he was here just for revenge. Wasn't he?

He nodded and pulled out the gitar placing it across his lap. The strings he tightened and experimented with the keys stretched out across the bottom. He pushed his hair out to the right again as it had fallen in his face when he leaned over.

Ri had settled on the floor and closed her eyes as he started playing a few notes to tune it. Then he launched into melody using chords he'd already programmed into the instrument. The chords played on their own and he simply added to them. He forgot his cell, forgot the Jedi, the Sith, even Ri and simply kept playing. He tried to add as much sadness into the music as he could. It was one of the first he'd made, although it was years before he ever got to play it. Before the Sith came he had aspired to make music, but now he did it to sooth himself.

He glanced up and noticed that Ri had fallen asleep where she was sitting, her head leaning against the wall. He stopped playing for a moment and stared at her. He wanted to run his fingers in her hair and... Unsettled, he shut those thoughts down immediately.

 _She really does trust me,_ he thought. He moved from his chair and picked her up gently and was struck again with how small she was. She didn't weigh much as he laid her on the cot in the room and pulled the blanket over her.

He reached down to brush her hair out of her face.

As he did so he was assailed again suddenly with the memory of his hands around her throat. He could feel it as if it was happening again. He broke into a cold sweat and backed away from her breathing heavily until he was against the wall. He slid down to the floor and covered his face in his hands. Of all the things in his life that one memory was enough to reduce him to shame. It was stupid, he'd killed many without a single drop of guilt.

They could never be close. They were on opposite sides, even now. Once the real enemy they both shared was defeated where would that leave them?

A knock on the door startled him and he stood up quickly smoothing his emotions over and getting control of himself.

It was Seneschal. He glanced over at Ri and lifted an eyebrow. Klayton only shrugged.

"The council has decided to upgrade your accommodations." He whispered, glancing at Ri's sleeping form. "Although I think it had better wait until tomorrow."

"Is she in trouble?" Klayton whispered. He meant for just being in his cell but Seneschal shook his head.

"No," said Seneschal. "As her former master, I can tell you this. She's always in trouble, but mostly with herself. She feels guilt at you being taken instead of her-"

"But-"

Seneschal held up a hand. "Save the explanation. Maybe you two can help each other."

"Help each other?" He glanced over at Ri again.

"The council is slow on making decisions," Seneschal went on. "But they will go after this person. They have to, there is no other choice."

Klayton felt a sense of relief, he had been convincing enough. He should probably go back to Telos.

"But they won't be able to find him."

Klayton's head snapped towards Seneschal. "What do you mean?"

"You two are going to escape from here, flush him out, find allies."

"Oh no, this isn't my problem... I plan on getting revenge."

"She will want that too." Seneschal nodded at Ri, "if anything she will want revenge." When Klayton started to protest Seneschal held up a hand. "Oh she'll call it justice, but she'll want it just the same."

Klayton clenched a fist. It was true.

Seneschal rose up to leave. "Thank you for coming. I'm thinking you should play a little more. It makes the guards confused."

Klayton wasn't sure how to respond at first. "Why?" He settled with.

"Because they don't know whether to kill you or become your number one fans. Good night Klayton." Seneschal saw himself out of the cell, which Klayton noticed was no longer locked.

Klayton sat on the floor again next to the bed playing his gitar for a while longer. His song wasn't sad, but for the moment he still felt trapped. Fear washed through him. Mostly because he knew that Seneschal was right.

Ri was tenacious and would go after the one who had destroyed her home planet. And he would never be able to stop her.

He knew he would be going with her before Seneschal ever left the room. Before she woke up and knew to ask him.

He felt the dark side force energy, it was familiar to him. But also so deep and wide he could have drunk it in. He drew on it and made a small bolt of lightning dance cross his fingers. He let his anger saturate him for the moment. Someone would pay for Dagelos.

He could bide his time too.


	11. Chapter 11

Ri awoke at dawn, noticing that she was laying on the cot in Klayton's cell. Sitting up quickly she looked around and noticed he was laying on the floor on his coat by the wall. She studied his face for a moment. He looked almost at peace asleep. His bright red strip of hair covered the bottom half of his face where it rested on the floor.

He must have moved her when she fell asleep.

They had been able to sense each other. 10-year-old Ri had been drawn to 11-year-old Klayton like a magnet. A lot of kids were because at this point, Klayton could play just about any musical instrument dropped in front of him. What else were they supposed to do when most of the adults were fleeing? He spent hours doing it to the amusement of everyone there.

She was still daydreaming of their childhood when his voice cut through her thoughts.

"Ri? You ok?" She blinked and focused on him.

He was sitting up now staring at her and realized suddenly with a flush that she had been staring at his face and at nothing at the same time.

"Yeah sorry, just remembering."

"What?" He stretched and threw his hair to the side again. Then pulled himself into a sitting position. The dawn was just barely breaking over the horizon. Most of this side of Coruscant was still asleep.

"The first time we met." She looked away.

"Ah," He turned away from her then. Closing himself off mentally. He wasn't sure how he felt about being here still and waking up almost next to Ri. He also did not want a repeat of last night when he'd remembered Yavin 4. "I'm getting an upgrade to my cell."

"What?"

"They've decided to give me a room with a view." Ri only stared at him. He crossed his arms and lifted an eyebrow. He was in a strange mood.

"When did you find that out?" Ri was suddenly embarrassed. She was still HERE. In the cell. Initially, she'd planned on standing guard outside of it, making sure no one tried anything. Not spending the night INSIDE.

"Seneschal was here last night, you had already crashed so he said I could move in the morning. I don't even have a locked door or guards." He grinned. "Want to help me move?"

She eyed his guitar bag and long black coat. "Because you have so much stuff..." She must have been more tired than she thought because Seneschal had not woken her when she was normally a light sleeper.

"Well the rest of my clothes are on Seneschal's ship still and I thought we could go get them maybe." His tone was saying something else entirely. She lifted an eyebrow and he grinned because he knew she had caught on.

 _What did you two decide to do?_ "Seneschal is aware of this?"

"Of course," Klayton responded. He knew someone was probably listening but he hoped they couldn't see him because he could not quite wipe the grin from his face. _If you don't get a move on, we'll have an audience as it is without anyone wondering why you spent the night here in my cell._

Ri's face went bright red. He lifted an eyebrow again. _Well? Isn't that what you were worried about?_

 _No, I wasn't -_

 _Don't lie to me. I can hear it remember?_

 _Don't remind me._ Her mind went blank as she focused on not thinking about anything. The corner's of Klayton's mouth dipped in amusement.

"He was waiting for me to have better accommodations, he assured the council I wasn't a flight risk." Klayton's smirk was unbearable. Ri wanted to shake him. How long did they have to sit here and have this conversation?

"I guess I'll escort you," she stood up. She badly needed a shower but that could wait till they were on Seneschal's ship. She adjusted her clothes and smoothed her hair braiding so that it hung long behind her head. When she turned back he looked away quickly. "Ready?"

He nodded and stood to do the same.

She opened the cell door and to her surprise, there wasn't anyone there. The day was still breaking however, there would be few out and about.

"You don't have to be so suspicious on your home turf," Klayton said coming out behind her. He was completely relaxed.

"You aren't about to commit something that would be considered treasonous." She said under her breath.

"Been there, done that. Let me know when you catch up?" Ri shot him an angry look, and Klayton shuddered. "If looks could kill I'd be dying slowly and painfully." He added starting off.

She had no choice but to hurry behind him. _What are you so cheerful about?_ "You know where you're going?" That slowed him.

"Not exactly," he slowed and gave her the lead. _We're leaving, why wouldn't I be in a good mood?_

"Five minutes in and I already want to kill you," She muttered. Klayton grinned over her head behind her. They slipped into the natural banter they'd used as kids easily. _Cheerful on you is probably the most suspicious thing you could be doing right now. Can't you pretend they're taking you into a maximum-security cell or something?_

"Does this walking behind you mean that I don't trust your motivations?" He joked as they walked down pristine white halls. He carried his bag and his long black coat was thrown over his shoulder. His boots thumped the floor as he glanced around. His eyes swept over the halls and people who stopped to eye them. _I could try, but it's really hard to not be excited about the idea of leaving._

 _Well, don't smile about it!_

 _You are just as excited to go as I am. And this is your home._

 _Dagelos was home._

That sobered both of them up quickly.

 _Che cavolo, are you always going to be such a kill joy?_

Ri didn't respond. She couldn't. The eagerness to leave had suddenly been replaced by rage and determination. One look at Klayton and she knew he could sense it as well. He stared at her for a moment before looking away and letting the subject drop.

They had traded good-natured insults back and forth constantly before. She was surprised at how easy it had been to slip into that routine. The double conversations they had always confused people. Especially when they slipped up. Outwardly they could have a meaningless conversation. Inside they could discuss serious things, like her nightmares, or whether to eat dinner at the orphanage that night or scrounge for something more decent.

They emerged from the Temple grounds and headed towards the Jedi's landing strip. She could make out Seneschal's ship. And suddenly Seneschal was there in front of her.

"Glad you could make it," he said. "I figured it would be helpful to have me escort you the rest of the way."

Ri shot him a grateful look. _I like him,_ Klayton sent to her. _He's pretty bad for a Jedi._

"What is going on?" She asked Seneschal.

"The council is deliberating." He answered. They both knew what that meant. A decision could take a while. The other temples might move faster or slower, but the saying was "Not even the Jedi move fast on Coruscant." The Central Galactic Republic as it was known these days also had its government seat on Coruscant. The Congress with its member body numbering in the thousands took even longer to debate.

Klayton said nothing. He was glad to be leaving this sluggish place. He tried not to practically run to Seneschal's ship as there were eyes watched him from all directions. He was supposed to be a guest, calm, and not exactly threatening. He had no idea where his light saber had disappeared to, but he supposed he could make another if he had to.

"Slow down Klayton," Seneschal said. "You're getting your clothes not leaving Coruscant."

"Guess that makes me the lucky one," He muttered slowing his pace down. He was anxious to get into space, find out what happened to Dagelos, figure out their next move.

"How-?" Ri started but Seneschal simply put a finger to his lips. The ramp was already down and they boarded.

"Everything you brought from Telos is still where you left it," Seneschal said. "Ri, you remember how to fly this thing?"

Ri nodded. "You're not coming with us?"

"No, Jaynor and I will stay behind and vouch for you." Seneschal looked away.

"Did you ever see this?" Klayton asked Ri suddenly as he set his bag down. It was an innocent question that came seemingly out of nowhere. It was out loud and definitely a slip up on Klayton's part.

Ri froze, and Seneschal stared at her confused at first by her reaction.

"What do you mean? See this?" Seneschal demanded looking to Ri.

"No," she said in a small voice glaring at Klayton who sat down staring at her with guilt written all over his face. _Klayton, he doesn't know!_

 _You never told anyone else?_

 _Do you know what they would have done to me if I had?_ Ri said.

"You can see the future?" Seneschal said abruptly picking up the meaning by Ri's panicked reaction.

Klayton tensed. His hand strayed to his empty belt.

"They would have made me stay in the hall of Prophets, I've been there once. They don't get to travel much; they aren't allowed to. They are considered a valuable asset..."

"They're trapped." Klayton surmised sitting down. He glanced at Seneschal who was pursing his lips.

"All this time, I thought your guilt was the thing that kept that storm going inside of you. I didn't realize you were hiding your gifts."

"It's not a gift!," Ri shouted suddenly agitated. Seneschal and Klayton both managed to look startled by her reaction.

Klayton stared not sure what he was feeling. He remembered, "This shouldn't change anything." He was tempted to reach for the Force right there but Seneschal was not threatening either of them.

Yet.

Seneschal's gaze slid between them. "No, it doesn't." He said. He paused, "I can see why you wouldn't have wanted to say anything." He turned away. "Just be glad Jaynor is not here."

"Five minutes," he said over his shoulder.

Ri not sure if she was hearing him correctly.

"I'm going to start the ship, give the protocols and get off. You'll be driving if you don't mind."

Ri nodded and took a deep breath. He was letting her go. "Thank you."

Seneschal eyed his former Padawan. "Don't make me regret this Ri."

"I've seen this," she said to him. "We go, but Klayton and I go alone."

"Where are you going?"

"Trust me." She gave Seneschal a solemn stare. Her former master nodded.

Klayton stared at her from across the room after Seneschal had departed, cold all over. "How strong was that gift exactly?"

She turned away and wrapped her arms around herself. "Not strong enough."

"Ri—" He started toward her his hands out he knew what she was referring to. All her premonitions on Dagelos and she hadn't known what they were. Part of him still blamed her. Another part of him knew better than to. He never said anything out loud, but she gasped anyway. She knew. He hadn't meant to let her see that.

"Don't." She said. "Let's just get out of here first." She left the pod area leaving Klayton alone with his bag and jacket to stare after her.

He sighed and moved towards the room he'd been given originally on the ship. Dropping his bag and coat, he briefly wondered if he should put it on but then noticed his light saber was laying on the bed. Grinning he scooped it up and put it in its place back on his belt. Seneschal was either fool or he really did trust Klayton. _Not me, Ri,_ he amended. The ship shuddered and Klayton realized they were taking off. Ri was flying and they were alone.

Not completely, Dag was standing in the corner, completely powered down. Klayton smiled at the reprogrammed holodroid. He must have gotten bored. The ship was spotless. Klayton moved over and pushed his gray head forward and found a small button on the base of his neck. This he pushed in.  
"Dag, wake up."

"Master!" Dag straightened and looked around. "I see we are heading back into space."

"It's just you, myself, and Ri."

Dag paused. "Well, I say your chances of survival have gone up tremendously. Ri seems to want to protect you."

Klayton looked around. "Yeah, she does."

"Did you kill the other two?"

"No!" Klayton pulled out his light saber. "I think it's time we practiced. Where we're going...we'll need it."

This perked the holodroid up immediately. "Any requests?"

"Hardest Jedi you have stored in there."

The servos on Dag whined and lit up and suddenly a human male with sandy colored hair and brown eyes stood in front of Klayton. He bore such a resemblance to Jaynor Wik that Klayton had no second thoughts about engaging the droid in battle. Whoever he was, the droid's actions proved fast and effective and Klayton found himself on edge quickly.

After ten exhausting minutes, Klayton called a halt. He was not going to beat this Jedi just yet. "Who is he?" He had never fought this holo before.

"I believe he was called Obi-Wan Kenobi," Dag responded, changing back into his droid form. "He was a magnificent duelist."

"Yeah well, he is definitely going to kill me," Klayton responded.

"I live to serve," Dag readied for another round.

Klayton shed some of his outer clothing now that he had broken into a sweat. He could understand the Jedi's preference for using the Force to shield them and not wearing any armor, but the Sith did not go that route. They were about control. And trusting the Force to act to protect them was outside of that control. He pondered Ri's insistence that he was with her in the visions. They both wanted revenge, that was certain. Why one on both sides of the Force?

Klayton put himself back into a fighting stance studying the movements of this Obi-Wan Kenobi Dag was simulating.

It was going to be a long trip, especially since they had no idea who's face they were chasing.


	12. Chapter 12

_Fleeing citizens took to the streets with whatever they could carry. No one was worried about the fate of two orphaned children._

 _"Klayton." She'd whispered grabbing his arm. "That's the ships I've been seeing in my dreams!"_

 _"Those aren't dreams!" He said suddenly staring at her, his eyes were huge as he turned skyward._

 _"Premonitions..." She said out loud, picking the word out of his thoughts. Her eyes wide with fear, "But that means, they're here."_

 _They had hidden in their alcove when the attack came. Sith approached so openly and in great numbers running through the streets. It had never happened before and it could only be surmised that the Empire sought the natural resources shipped off world._

 _The problem? Neither Klayton nor Rí knew how to hide their presence. They openly communicated between each other unaware that the Sith would be looking for those like them._

 _She dreaded the outcome, wished she could change it a thousand times. But you can never go back and change the past._

 _A masked Sith had snatched her up by her hair. "I know several who have need of an apprentice," he'd snarled behind the mask. She'd struggled against the hand. Run Klayton!, she called out mentally, not realizing that she'd pushed_  
 _it so openly and that the Sith holding her could hear it._

 _"There's another," the one holding her said to someone she couldn't see._

 _Suddenly there was an explosion and Rí was thrown to the ground, although she managed to soften the landing, she glanced up in time to see Klayton there between her and another Sith. The first lay on the ground unmoving._

 _He hadn't run but stood between the Sith and her, his fists clenched at his side. His command of the Force was stronger than hers and he'd managed to take them by surprise._

 _But he was no match for the fully trained Sith._

 _Another explosion rocked the town and suddenly there were Jedi everywhere, and Rí tried calling for help but she just managed a small sob._

 _The Sith snatched Klayton up and carried him away. His fists pounded on the back of the man carrying him to no avail._

 _Klayton's eyes were wide with fear when they met Ri's._

 _Run Ri! He sent._

 _"Klayton! No!" The wail tore out of her throat. She hadn't been able to move, she had lain there in the dirt her eyes locked on him, a thousand promises of rescue behind her eyes, her hands were reaching for him as the Sith rounded the corner and disappeared with him._

 _Other arms pulled her roughly up and out of the dirt. The Jedi, she fought against the arms pulling her knowing they were only going to take her further away._

 _"Ri!"_

"Rí!" It was Klayton now his arms pulling her up into a sitting position. "Hey wake up!" She was sobbing.

Dag stood behind in the door way, his servos making a humming sound against the silent ship.

"I'm so sorry Klayton," she blurted. "My fault..."

"Your fault?" He didn't understand, although he was beginning to see that under Rí's calm exterior she was still fighting demons that he didn't see, some that nothing to do with what he'd done over a year ago. They would have to figure something out though, every time she had a vision, or a nightmare objects rose up off the floor.

The dream had been disturbing enough, forcing him to wake her just so he would no longer have to see it. Seeing it through her memories had caused his whole worldview to change. And if he was still honest with himself he was still working through what that meant for him.

Rí glanced over at him. "That day," she whispered.

"I know," he whispered backing away from her and looking away. "That is not your fault."

"I was having visions, and I didn't know what they were. I could have warned someone, anyone."

"Rí, we were kids, with no training what-so-ever," he said. He surprised himself realizing he believed exactly what he was saying.

"If I had done something, you wouldn't have been taken," She whispered.

"Or we both would have," he said. "I got through a lot of that believing I saved you from a worse fate. I made the mistake of voicing that out loud one day in front of my Master. He then spent years attempting to destroy my memories of you."

He sighed and released her. "That's why when I saw you coming for me, I first thought you there to kill me. I hadn't seen you in years, and I hadn't expected you to show up as a Jedi. I barely recognized you."

"I recognized you, just not right away. I kept seeing this vision of a man with weird red and black hair, and I didn't realize until that moment that it was you until I saw you with your Master at Yavin 4."

Klayton pulled away. He didn't want to remember Yavin 4.

Simultaneously both of them put their walls back up.

"Anyway," She rubbed her face. "I didn't mean to disturb you."

He shrugged trying to recapture that moment but failing. He moved towards the door before the silence got to be uncomfortable. "Come, pilot, when you're ready. I'm not exactly a pro at something this size...and we should be getting there in another four hours."

"Four hours?" Rí sighed. Even hyperspace was feeling slow. Still, Dagelos was a destination. Somewhere they could start to find a clue.

She didn't tell Klayton that she'd had so many visions of him that she'd known he would have to come. She took her time coming out of the room after he and Dag had left.

She didn't know the end game.

And Rí was determined to be the one to stand in the gap this time.

Not him.

Klayton stood in the circle of bodies spread out in the sand. Rí stood just outside wrinkling her nose. Circle of death, she remembered. Here they were standing right in her vision again. She shuddered.

"What is it you think we'll find here?" Rí paced, impatiently. She held one hand up to her nose and paced back and forth not coming any closer than necessary.

"Master, I must agree with Ri on this," Dag said. "This defies all logic, whoever did this must be malfunctioning on a higher level."

Klayton studied the bodies, not interested in getting any closer but knowing they needed more information. "We don't know who did this," He replied, "so we need to find out who these were and trace back the trail." The heat blasted down and the lack of any kind of Force within the planet itself made the place unbearable. He was glad he'd left his coat on board. Rí had also shed her Jedi robes when they a had landed. Although her gray shirt and pants were little better than his clothing in this heat.

He was sweating like crazy.

The only way he could describe the atmosphere here was "wrong." It was a heavy weight of nothing that pulled against your chest. He reached down and pulled the hood away from the face of the Sith closest to Rí. "Caridin." He stepped back, letting the hood fall over the shrunken but recognizable face. The heat had pulled any moisture from the bodies and the skin was pulling in towards the skull.

"Someone, you know?" Rí asked stepping closer.

"Yeah. He was taken off Dagelos with me. He came from another town, Tenquat or something like that, on the other side of Dagelos, near the equator." Klayton replied, "His Master was Lord Edigan." He began walking the circle picking up each hood and dropping it. Rí remained where she was. She wasn't going to be able to recognize any of them anyway.

"What are you looking for?"

"His Master," Klayton pulled up another hood. "You'll know her when you see her. Bright red, fiery hair, hard to miss..."

"You feel like you liked her," Ri smiled as she stooped to lift the hood off a body. It was a man.

"I admired her," Klayton chose his words carefully. "But I would stay as far away from her as I could."

"Oh?" Ri lifted another hood.

"She's not here," Klayton reported an hour later. He, Ri, and Dag had been pulling up hoods and turning over bodies for hours.

"Could Caridin have killed her?"

Klayton paused his hand going to his chin. "It's possible, but it's our only lead. The others I've seen but I'm not familiar enough with them to know who they are."

"Lord Edigan," Rí muttered looking around. "Where would we find her?"

Klayton looked at her. "She's outside the Republic realm, in the Sith Empire. Can you handle that?"

"You're serious?" Rí glared at him.

"The Sith will pick you apart."

"So tell them I'm your new apprentice."

"But you're a Jedi Knight."

"And?"

"You want me to lie to a bunch of Sith?" Ri stared at him surprise written on her face. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"I didn't realize that was a problem?"

"Well, a mutual understanding between Sith ensures..." Dag's metallic voice dropped away when Ri glared at him.

Klayton paused, remembering when he had confronted his own Master about Rí's intentions. "Yes," he muttered. "But Rí this isn't you. You don't exactly show up as the Dark Side. I don't want you losing yourself in this..." He wasn't sure where he was going and the sentence trailed off."

"Yet you won't come of it yourself."

"I don't deserve that." He finally said, dismissing the idea of any type of salvation for him. "You don't just suddenly become the good guy and all is forgiven. And I don't want to spend any more time than I have to in the Temple on Coruscant." He stopped and looked at her. "This is what a Sith does Ri. Don't try to save me."

"We're going to where Edigan lives." She said firmly. "Besides if you fail, how will I know?" Rí turned away to head back to the ship.

"You would feel the connection break," Klayton's voice came from behind her. She turned her head and paused. "And it's there..." His voice paused and he came out of the circle towards her. "Don't deny it."

"I couldn't even if I wanted to," she said. "It's how I knew you were alive all this time...why did you not sever it?" She laced her fingers together in front of herself as she walked, avoiding contact.

"It's how I knew you were alive." He studied his boots as he kicked sand.

"I still thought I was going to rescue my childhood friend. I couldn't picture you growing up as a Sith."

Klayton walked beside her and said nothing. It was true he had intervened when she'd been caught and consequently been captured himself. He had endured years of Sith training. He had also killed a lot of Jedi, innocent people, and just about anyone that got in his way. Sometimes for fun. At some point, he had started questioning everything. Degan had complained about his lack of ambition, a lot.

"You don't know the depths that I've sunk to," he responded finally as they reached the ship. "Don't try to save me Rí, or bring me back. This isn't about last year, although that's part of it." He ran his fingers through his hair again, pulling it forward and to the side so he couldn't see her next to him.

"A smart person once told me, that we were just kids then," Rí responded quietly.

Klayton got angry. "This isn't like that at all. Not a game, not an excuse." Lightning crackled on his fingertips he let his hands drop to the sides, getting control of himself.

Rí was startled but she stood her ground. "Then stop playing," she snapped. She turned and fled into the ship to set the heading.

"Master?" Dag asked suddenly breaking the silence. "Should I go after her?"

"No!" Klayton snapped, he knew the droid was still programmed to act in his best interests but he didn't need it killing everyone who crossed him. "Just go inside."

Dag shuffled inside trailing sand in his wake, muttering about how moody his master had become.

Klayton stood outside for a moment and felt the anger burn through him. He stared at the bodies, thousands of them, Sith whose crime had been to be loyal to someone. So loyal they perished. He doubted they knew exactly what they died for.

He lifted his hands and with what little of the Force he had within himself he commanded the sand to lift and suddenly the sands rose up into a thick haze. He dropped his hands again and moved them in a circular motion. The sands began swirling down and covering the bodies. When the air cleared, they were gone. It was a burial of sorts, it would have to do. He felt something leave him. A heaviness he didn't know was there.

Klayton had nothing left, he felt as empty as the planet they were standing on. He let the bitterness wash through him for a moment as he glanced over the dead surface of Dagelos one last time. He turned away and headed for the ship

Rí stood in the cargo bay with her mouth hanging open. She knew Klayton was powerful but she had yet to see him doing anything other than the killing stroke he'd delivered upon his Master Degan, and play his guitar which required no Force abilities whatsoever.

He saw her waiting when he looked up. "What?" He was still irritated with her.

"I just need a more specific location to set the coordinates to." She said in a low voice. One hand was on the side of the ships door so she could flee.

"Ikdelat." He said. "That was her planet."

She nodded and fled back inside.

Klayton grumbled as he went inside to change. The door closing behind him brought almost instant coolness as the ship's life systems took over. He peeled off his shirt and made his way to his room. He showered, changed, and grabbed his guitar.

Rí wouldn't be bothering him for a while. He could feel her frustration with him. He dismissed the thoughts quickly and simply closed himself off to her. He picked up his guitar and began to pluck the strings. His touch on the Force earlier had been purposely done. He knew whoever had taken the life of everything on Dagelos would be able to sense him using it. It was possible they would come to them. A spark of Dark Side energy on a dead world was bound to get someone's attention.

Klayton had not mentioned it to Rí because he knew she would tell him not to touch the Dark Side at all. But Rí wasn't going to be able to protect him where they were going. He wasn't even sure if he could protect her. And he wasn't that confident in their lead. Better to be the bait himself.


	13. Chapter 13

The smaller vessel loomed in front of the Aphelion, demanding its attention. Ri's first impression was to laugh. She's sobered realizing they really were here. Sure she'd fought Sith on many occasions, but she'd never made an incursion into their territory before.

She sensed before she saw Klayton come to stand behind her. He'd felt her surprise. She could sense the thoughts going through his mind. She remained silent. He wasn't blocking her at the moment.

Klayton and Ri had spent the last few days avoiding each other. Mentally they couldn't help but hear each other. Each could sense the emotions of the other but neither was willing to bring up the subject of Ri's visions again.

"I'll talk to them," his hand strayed to his saber. _Someone noticed after all._ He was uneasy. They had to have been waiting here for them. This run was the fastest route into the heart of the Empire. He reached out with his senses only picking out two individuals on board. He pulled his hand up to talk into his wrist comm. "Dag be ready for a fight."

Rí nodded. She glanced sideways at him for a moment. His hand had stayed on his light saber. He was expecting trouble. Her own hand strayed to her belt as well even as she sat.

This was his territory, not hers. She'd have to trust him. Oddly enough after days of silence, she still did.

She opened a channel and Klayton stepped into the screen so they could see him. "Lord Aden?" The voice was startled.

 _Lord Aden?_ She mouthed at him.

He stared at the screen ignoring her look, not recognizing the man who stared back at him. "Yes," He clenched his hands at his sides. "Under what authority are you stopping me?"

"Emperor Caidus," The man's dark eyes flashed. "He is now the Emperor and wishes an audience with you regarding your ...passenger." They knew.

"What happened to the previous Emperor?"

"What usually happens," The man appraised Klayton coolly. The top seat of power wasn't a position Klayton would have taken if he had a choice. His former master had told him he lacked ambition. Perhaps he did, as far as leadership went. But Klayton, even as Lord Aden never wanted to sit the in the dark chair.

"My passenger is my new apprentice."Ri's eyebrows shot up in surprise but said nothing. They could argue later. "But if you insist on boarding you may do so at your earliest convenience. Out." He turned to Rí. "You ready for this?"

"For what exactly?" She wasn't sure what was happening. She tensed where she sat.

"A fight to the death of course. We are stealing that ship."

"What?" He was ten steps ahead of her.

"Did you not notice their intentions?" Klayton began pacing the floor, glancing between her and Dag. "They aren't going to take me alive. You, they'll take to this... ...Caidus." Klayton searched his memories for the identity of Caidus but was drawing a blank. He must have arisen to power recently...draining a planet would have increased him significantly.

It was a name though. They had to put a face to it.

Seneschal's ship shuddered as the smaller Sith vessel docked with them. The doors opened moments later and the two Sith strode in. Both dressed in black head to toe, long capes flowing out behind them.

The elder glanced around the ship. "This is a nice ship," He said.

Klayton nodded and gave a guarded reply. "I thought so when I took it."

"And the Jedi?" Both of the Sith turned and glanced at Ri their vision raking her from head to toe.

"A bonus, plus she's nice to look at." The sneer in Klayton's voice gave Ri pause. He was certainly believable.

Rí's face flamed and her hand strayed to her belt.

"Lord Aden, I'm afraid we'll have to detain you here. You are not welcome in the Empire. Your...apprentice will have to come with us." Again the elder Jedi's gaze moved to Ri. As believable as Klayton's performance was earlier the sudden burst of rage that broke forth he barely managed to smother. He glanced over at Ri and then back at the two Sith calming himself with effort.

"I have every right to come into the Sith territories," he said slowly. "I am a Sith Lord in my own right. Are you contesting me?"

"Contesting?" The elder Jedi laughed again as he spared a glance over at Ri. She tensed again. Klayton was right to be ready for a fight. "There is no contesting a death sentence for a traitor to the Empire. Not when we get to take the prize back to the Emperor himself. He won't mind her being a little used when she gets there as long as she's intact."

That did it for Ri. She pulled out her light saber and waited. The Apprentice stood behind his master waiting for the word. Ri knew she had to at least act the part.

"You slaughtered our last delegation." The Sith continued. "You are a traitor. We know where your allegiance lies."

The two Sith moved in one accord dropping their hands to their sabers.

"Yes, well you don't poke a sleeping giant," Klayton warned. It was a phrase used on their home world of Dagelos, which once upon a time had had a gigantic bipedal creature that lived on it.

"You consorted with Jedi in the Temple, we know about it." He drew his light saber and lit it with a flourish, but Klayton never drew his saber. He had been cloaking his strength, his connection to the Dark Side until the moment he could open himself up to the Force and catch them both completely off guard. He saw the elder Sith's eyes widen in shock when he felt Klayton's connection. He snatched the man off the ground with a Force choke, crushing down on his windpipe until he dropped his lightsaber.

He was eerily calm, not noticing anything else on the ship. Just the man he had suspended in the air.

His full control of the Force was suddenly revealed to them, but it was too late.

Klayton did not even bother to turn around as the second Sith attacked. Ri was already there behind him as he knew she would be.

Rí rushed in and blocked the blow from the Apprentice's saber with her own activated blue light saber. She had simply been hiding her presence, she felt the Force just outside of her being, waiting to be used. "You're still a Jedi." The apprentice grinned at her. "Pity," He drew back from her and circled warily now that the odds had changed considerably.

He was wary of both them. Perhaps she truly was a Sith in training.

Ri stared at the Sith in front of her. She felt Klayton behind her and for a brief moment wondered if this man had been taken the same way. Had he been forced into this life?

"Were you kidnapped?" She blurted the question out before she could stop herself.

The apprentice paused for a moment. Then he started laughing. "No, I wasn't. I was born into the Empire and chose this. No one stole me or enslaved me. I was chosen because of my ability and I chose to become an Apprentice."

"But-" Ri paused. She knew very little about the culture that lived within the Sith Empire itself. It had to have had one though.

 _Now is not the time for philosophy Ri_! Klayton's voice filled her mind. She remembered he'd been holding the other Sith in the air the whole time.

The Apprentice had only taken a step towards her when the screams from the Elder Sith filled the ship.

They both stopped, stunned and pivoted towards Klayton.

 _He's invading his mind,_ Rí suddenly realized recognizing the hold. "Klayton, don't!" she screamed noticing his kneeling position as he pinned the helpless Sith down with his knee but kept a firm grip on his throat. Her hand went to her own throat just as the Apprentice raced toward his master intending to strike Klayton from behind. Klayton never moved but Rí was there once again between them.

Her steps were now clumsy as the screaming produced a wave of nausea within her. She tripped and landed on her back with the Apprentice standing over here. Ri didn't move. For a moment she felt incapacitated. Suddenly Dag was there, the holodroid moved swiftly his body shifting from machine to Jedi in seconds. Ri didn't recognize the dark skinned Jedi but the light saber was purple and moved in the Vaapad style.

While Dag could replicate almost any style of combat he couldn't replicate the Force quite as well. The apprentice through him bodily aside and came for Ri. She glanced over at Klayton who was still sitting on top of the other Sith. He was looking for information she realized.

She didn't dare ask him what was going on mentally or out loud but brought her saber up to meet the Apprentice's. Dag suddenly joined her from the other side. The apprentice managed to knock Dag away again but Ri blocked his attempts to use the Force against her. She swatted them aside as easily as one would an annoying gnat.

"I don't know what's going on," He said clearly frightened, "but you've got some explaining to do." His voice quavered.  
Rí could only stare at him open-mouthed, how could he possibly think he was in charge of the situation?  
The Screams ceased and the Apprentice turned and ran for their ship. He didn't get far as his neck snapped audibly. He dropped to the floor, rolled over on his back, his open eyes staring at nothing, his neck at an impossible angle.

Ri turned her head towards Klayton who was standing behind her with his arm outstretched towards where the Apprentice had been running, his eyes were red rimmed and angry. He felt enraged.

"You didn't have to do that." Ri was still trying to piece together what had happened. Dag stood up from against the wall where he'd been knocked inspecting a dent in his shoulder.

"Do what?" Klayton said moving over to inspect the apprentice. His rage was subsiding. Ri hadn't noticed once she engaged the apprentice how angry he was.

"You killed him," Rí managed. "Why? What good did it do? We needed information." She clicked off her saber and with a smooth practiced motion flicked herself off the floor. She moved over and stood next to him not quite looking at him.

"Good?" Klayton suddenly stood and pulled her off the floor and pinned her to the wall. "Were you going to save him too, Ri?" Klayton paused to take a breath. "La merda! Where are we again? Good doesn't cut it out here!"

"There had to have been another way." She glared at him, stubborn and refusing to back down, even if he did have her hanging in the air by the front of her shirt by one arm. Her hands clamped down around his wrist. Some of his anger was bleeding over through the link.

"No," said Klayton getting into her face as he stared her down. "Out here, there are no rules, no forms of acceptable engagement. They were going to steal our ship first, kill me, and take you to Caidus."

"So we just kill them?"

"Do you know what he wanted to do to you?" Klayton's rage rose a notch again. His fingers tightened. "We are after a bigger problem. This new emperor just drained a planet and you are worried about a few Sith who would have cut your throat? Just to get your ship?"

"So we just sink to their level?"

"Vaffanculo! Did you not hear what I said, woman!?" Klayton suddenly understood the reason she was upset. It wasn't that he had killed them. He had invaded someone else's mind, just as he had done hers. He felt bad about that but certainly not the Sith he'd just killed. The man had certain plans for Ri. Plans that Klayton would have killed him multiple times over if time had allowed it.

He had leaned forward until he was eyeball to eyeball with her. "This is the real problem right here. If you cannot do what needs to be done, then go home, back to your pristine white Temple. You don't see any of them out here trying to save the galaxy, do you? Do they have what it takes? These Sith aren't going to play nice, or fair. Go home, Rí. I don't want you to get hurt."

Suddenly Klayton found himself being thrown across the room. Rí stood away from the wall with her light saber which was now activated. She pulled down her shirt with her right hand and straightened it. Her eyes blazed.

Dag moved to stand in front of Klayton but Klayton moved him aside with a flick of his wrist pushing the holodroid out of the door and closing it. "Master!" Dag protested.

"Come on then," Ri said. Her voice was low and calm. Klayton reached out mentally but was rebuffed by whatever shield she'd put up to keep him from seeing her emotions. He was impressed already by her too calm demeanor. _I should give pep talks more often,_ he thought. His own anger had subsided. He hadn't been angry with her anyway.

He clicked on his light saber. A few weeks ago the idea of fighting her had made him want to crawl into a hole and die. But he knew this wasn't a fight to the death. She had something to prove to him. He had yet to really see her fight, despite her previous encounter with him.

This was the first time She'd ever drawn a saber on him. They were making progress.

He struck first a powerful downward arc that staggered her back but didn't stop her. She met him blow for blow as he advanced through Juyo, one of the most aggressive forms of fighting the Sith had.

"You know Juyo," he said suddenly as he kept pushing, trying to find a weakness in her technique.

"Vaapad," she snarled defensively, "trying to defend my pristine white tower from the likes of you!"

He burst forward rapidly in an attempt to disarm her and she suddenly changed to Soresu, a highly defensive form of combat that conserved energy. Rí continued to leap and skip rapidly around him, never letting her guard down as he rained blows down on her. Suddenly she attacked returning to Vaapad and put him back on the defensive with several sweeping strokes. She was smaller so her area of defense was smaller, her blows lacked the power that he had but he had a hard time seeing any kind of break in her forms, let alone find a weakness.

He tried using a Force push against her, but she blocked it easily with one of her own managing to keep her saber moving.

They were like two sides of an infinity symbol each flowing into the other. He knew that he needed to break that to get through her defenses.

Both of them had broken out into a sweat and were breathing heavily. He suddenly tossed a heavy metal box in her direction she barely deflected it and he was upon her, managing to grab a hold of her wrist using his whole body to pin her to the wall. She relaxed in his grip, although he knew it wasn't resignation. Any second she was going to blast him back again with the Force. Telekinesis was one of her strong suits.

"Rí," he said into her ear loosening his grip on her wrist, "Enough, you've made your point. I don't want to die today."

She was still breathing hard but her body began to sag a little as she calmed. Klayton clicked off his lightsaber. Set her down gently and put both hands up in a submissive gesture.

"So you agree that killing them was wrong?"

"No," said Klayton. He turned away from her. "You don't want to know his intentions for you were. I'd kill him again if he could die again. And I would do it in the same way." His voice was hard as he spoke and he kept his eyes averted. He hooked his light saber back over his belt.

Rí shuddered behind him. He felt muted again.

 _You wouldn't feel sorry for him if you knew, Ri._

"We're looking for an Emperor Caidus." He sneered the word Emperor in disdain. "As far as most of the Sith know, I am responsible for the deaths on Dagelos."

"You?" Rí was stunned. "Sounds like they practice their own form of propaganda."

"Doesn't everyone?" Klayton turned back to her. "We should do that more often."

"Fight?"

"Practice," He corrected. The tension between them that had lasted for days was gone. "I had no idea you were that strong. You hide it well."

Rí smiled in return despite the fact that there were two bodies on the floor. The mind invasion that Klayton performed made her sick. He had done it to her, she knew how painful it could be.

He considered her again, standing in the ship's cargo area waiting for him to make a decision. It still galled him that she trusted him this openly. No pretense that he might betray her.

Not that he was planning on it.

But fighting in the Vaapad style was one of the things she enjoyed. Another reason she hadn't mentioned her foresight he realized. She would never have been able to leave, let alone fight. Vaapad let the Jedi to enjoy the thrill of battle in a way that they were not encouraged to do. Supposedly it came too close to the Dark Side but Seneschal had learned it and passed it on to Rí after realizing she fully intended to battle Sith at some point.

Klayton had his back to her now, but he was smiling. He had seen the look on her face, the sheer enjoyment of what she was doing, and while she hadn't told him yet, he resisted the urge to tell her that her love for battle was not the sin she'd been taught it was.

"Let's get them out into space," he said. "Then we'll need to get out of here."

"We'll take both ships for now?" Rí said.

Klayton nodded lifting the elder Sith over his shoulder and walking him to the air locks. "May come in handy, but we'll need to destroy any beacons on board."

"What if they're outside the ship?"

He glanced at her surprised. "What are you a Padawan? Use the Force!"

"Right," she grumbled. She couldn't look at the Apprentice as she lifted him using the flow of the Force to cradle his body. She set him gently down outside the air locks while Klayton dumped the Elder Sith unceremoniously on the ground next to him.

Stepping back Klayton hit the air locks and watched as the door closed. The bodies would be jettisoned into space any second after the locks latched.

"There is at least one thing I'd like to teach you," Klayton said turning to Rí.

"What?"

"Force Lightning, a lot of Sith use it," he brought his fingers up and let a few tendrils of energy snake out of his hand, he watched the sparks dance in front of her lighting up her eyes before bringing his fingers closed in a fist and releasing the energy.

"You at least need to know how to catch and release it," he said. "This can instantly kill you otherwise."

She nodded already fascinated. _Good_ , he thought, this should keep them busy for the few weeks it was going to take them to get to Ikdelat. Or longer if they needed to go undetected. He had no desire to pass the time hiding from her on the ship like when they'd first set out.

"We are on the edge of the Galactic Republic," she glanced around the room. "Let's send a message back to Seneschal at least, let him know the name we found."

"You don't want to go back and tell him yourself?"

"No, he might have told someone about my foresight." Klayton sensed the reluctance to be caged coming off her.

"Did something happen in the Temple after you were taken by the Jedi?" He asked suddenly.

"You mean that I almost wasn't trained because I had anger issues?" She smiled. "Seneschal took me on because he sensed there was an underlying reason for the anger. The Jedi temple...it's become..." she searched for words. "Complacent. Just like the Galactic Republic it serves. Even with the information, we're sending them I don't know if they'll know what to do with it. I hope Seneschal takes them to Dagelos just so they can feel it themselves." She looked at him, "But we're going hunting."

"That's not it though is it," He persisted.

Ri looked down and then her head came up and she looked him in the eye. "I have a vision of myself in a cage when I was first brought there. I saw the cage...it's the Hall of Prophets. I asked about it and was told what it was. I have never told anyone else what I see because of it."

"Duty and honor didn't make you speak up?" He smirked at her.

"Duty and honor kept me silent." She frowned. "You know if we had been brought to the Temple together and they found that out, you and I would still have never seen each other again. Except through glass." She shuddered. "Seneschal may feel duty bound to report it. Jaynor definitely would have. There was a time when foresight was considered a gift but you didn't cage those who had it. Now they are so afraid of the Sith getting their hands on someone with that gift that they hide them on Coruscant."

Klayton suddenly felt his blood run cold. The elder Sith had mentioned they knew that he had consorted with Jedi, how was this? If Seneschal mentioned it to anyone it was possible that the Sith would know. There was someone in the Temple who was spying. He didn't voice his suspicions out loud. But he realized that whoever this Lord Caidus was, he already knew about Ri.

"You can't go back." He agreed. "But we have a name."


	14. Chapter 14

It took them a 7 standard 24 hour days to get to Ikdelat. The smaller vessel belonging to the two Sith was still attached to their ship like a small parasite. Klayton had studied it for a few moments before deciding that it would be better to land this particular craft down on Ikdelat. Seneschal's freighter, the Aphelion was too noticeable and would be even more so landed on a world ruled by a Sith. Traveling in the Sith Empire was simpler...landing would not be so.

Klayton had removed all the beacons and any traces of its previous owners. After their bodies had jettisoned into the cold recesses of space he followed up with their belongings, anything he didn't find necessary was tossed.

He was cold, efficient, and entirely indifferent on the deaths of the two men.

That was not entirely true, as he watched their belongings spin away into the black on an eternal journey towards the gravity center of the nearest star he reflected on the elder Sith's plans for Ri. The Master had planned on killing Klayton, that Klayton had no problem with. It was a rule here, kill or be killed.

But the man's plans for Ri...

They had been unforgiveable, filling Klayton with a rage he hadn't felt since his former master had swung a light saber in her direction on Yavin 4. _Lord Caidus didn't say she had to arrive in one piece._ That was the thought that kept echoing in Klayton's mind. The Sith knew, they were looking for them. Whoever this Lord Caidus was, he had spies in the Jedi Temple. Klayton didn't know whether to worry for Ri's predicament or laugh at his own.

He could take her to Lord Caidus himself, every Sith knew the location of their central world. He would be a hero. Or he would be joining her on the run from her own Temple as well as his.

Unlike Klayton Ri was bothered by the deaths of the Sith, particularly the apprentice.

She hadn't brought it up yet, but she wondered where the apprentice had come from. Was he kidnapped like Klayton? Forced to be a Sith like he was? Had he a family? She had agonized over these ideas until Klayton snapped her out of it by attempting to teach her how to produce lightning.

He was tired of sensing her feelings of guilt over two men who would have killed them both. He couldn't understand it, nor did he want to.

He stepped up their practice rounds just to kill the feelings and take her mind off of it.

 _Jedi weren't supposed to enjoy fighting_ , Klayton thought to himself. _Maybe Ri would venture over to the Dark Side._ He kept that thought to himself knowing instantly that she would rebel against the idea. The more he considered the less he liked the idea.

"Feel for the energy, imagine wrapping it in your hand," Klayton said standing behind her. "This is where you have to tell the Force what to do. It's not leading you...you're leading it." He chose his words carefully. His Master had told Klayton that the Force was his slave, a tool that he would use to overpower others. But he knew that Ri did not feel this way.

Ri reached for the Force again. What he was asking felt alien to her. It was unheard of for a Jedi to command the Force in such a way. Most of the Jedi teachings centered around letting the Force guide them.

She knew telekinesis was a form of telling the Force what to do, or at least asking, she felt her mind opening up to the Force, _please just one spark..._

Klayton just wanted a spark from her. She opened her hand and felt the Force respond.

What was supposed to be a small spark bolted across the room and obliterated a chair.

"STOP!" Ri didn't even realize she had screamed out the word until the energy released itself and she felt it dissipate away from her.

Both of them stood in shock for a moment. Klayton wasn't sure how to respond, he himself had only produced small sparks at first, nothing close to the destruction Ri had just unleashed.

As the energy left her Ri suddenly felt the searing pain in her hand. Her fingertips were scorched white, tears stung her eyes. She turned towards Klayton and held out her hand, her vision had blurred as tears threatened at the unexpected sensation. She tried holding it back, she was a mature battle master, breaking down was NOT something she did.

He didn't move for a moment and then ran for a medical kit which kept small packs of bacta for smaller injuries. _No one carried a Bacta Tank on their ships anymore_ , he mused as he tore open the pack and stuck her hand inside pulling it together to seal it. She shook with the pain but this subsided as soon as the bag was wrapped around her fingers.

"You're lucky." He said to her. "If this had been Master Degan, he would have told you to withstand the pain and do that again." He held her by the wrist making sure the little bag was as secure as he could make it. He guided her to one of the remaining chairs. She sat and he kneeled at her side.

"How did you do that?"

"What do you mean?"

"I was considered prodigal by Degan for being able to produce sparks on my first go," Klayton said not looking at Ri. "You..." He stopped. Sparking that much energy had not spared her fingers.

Ri changed the subject.

"That happened to you?" She indicated her hands.

"More than once." He shrugged, suddenly aware of the guilt pouring off of her. "Stop it, none of that is your fault."

"But—"

"No," He looked into her eyes. "I interfered with you being taken, you were my friend, and I would do it again if I had to."

"Let's hope not." She cracked a grin but it quickly faded.

He shrugged and they were silent.

"You're not really a good Sith you know."

"Thanks for the observation. I didn't know there was such a thing as good Sith. Maybe I should have just obeyed my Master."

"It just that you don't have the desire for power, to control things."

"You don't suppose I could switch back to being a good Sith now?"

When Ri lifted an eyebrow at him she shrugged. "You know what I wanted to be before..." He waved a hand, "all of this."

"So? Has that changed?"

"Well no..."

"So?"

"Life happens, Ri." He shrugged and found himself staring at her lips.

"Proximity Alert!" The ships warnings went off. Ri leapt up and Klayton glad for the interruption took off for the cockpit.

"Dag what's happening?" He shouted as they ran. In the viewing port ahead of them lay the planet Ikdelat.

Dag's voice poured into his ear. "We came out of hyperspace near one of the moons. Adjusting course now, Master."

"Caridin lived here?" Ri glanced at the blue green planet.

"Getting in is going to be a pain," said Klayton.

"Can't we just land out in the forest?"

"Uh, Ikdelat isn't some undeveloped world like Telos." Klayton glanced at the screen again.

"We might have to orbit and take the smaller ship. We're pretty visible otherwise."

He glanced over at her again. "And stop feeling guilty, you are going to get us killed out there. No here is going to feel guilty but you."

"You visit this place often?"

"Maybe," Klayton shrugged. "Let's just say my Master had a crush on Caridin's Mistress."

"He was in love with her?"

"Love?" Klayton laughed. "Hardly, he wanted her but she put him off. Love had nothing to do with it. Love isn't a Sith emotion."

Ri stared at him for a moment. The guilt disappeared and now sadness was in it's place.

Klatyon groaned inwardly as he moved past her to the cockpit. Why wouldn't he be linked with a placid Jedi? Famous for their ability to remain emotionless, peaceful, or calm? "If you don't mind setting us in orbit around Anwat."

She nodded and put in a few deft keystrokes to the ships navigation systems. Ikdelat's only moon was Anwat. But it was bare and used for nothing. Fortunately for them.

 _Suddenly she was standing in a ship coming on course to Ikdelat. She glanced through the viewing port and spotted a small ship orbiting the Anwat moon. Curious she drove the ship closer to view..._

The ship shuddered as Ri changed her course.

"A vision?" Klayton's voice floated into her ear, and she glanced over at him. He was staring at her, and she remembered that he could sense whenever a vision came over her. He couldn't see it, but he could feel the change in her. At least she didn't have to hide it from him. She only nodded and started the landing procedures.

"What are you doing?" Klayton looked at her and then back at the screen watching the moon become larger.  
"Landing," she offered. "You can still be seen by anyone coming from behind."

"Hadn't planned on being here that long."  
"Someone is coming." She glanced at him to make sure he understood. He only stared at her as the realization dawned on him.

"How often does that happen?" Klayton grabbed a rail as the ship shuddered as it touched down on the surface and stopped.

"I don't know," she admitted.

"Did you see who it was?"

"No."

"Ok the problem we're having now...is that if any Sith is down there..." he paused and stared at her. "Actually anyone who can sense the Force is going to know you are a Jedi."

"I'm going too."

"No you're not." Klayton tried to make her understand. "Ri you're like a bright star here. You stand out."

"I can hide it."

"No," He smiled at her. "Edigan is a Master Sith, and you reek of guilt and sadness. Not strength, or power... No offense"

Ri stared at him, hardly able to tell if he was serious. His expression did not change.

"Now if you could hold onto that, all the way down," He said. "But you can't."

"So I trust you to find everything?"

It was the wrong thing to say. Klayton had argued the same points earlier but for her to bring it up when he really was hoping she would just trust him? "Gah! Vaffanculo! Yes, you are." He felt furious at the same time.

Ri crossed her arms. "Fine."

He could feel the Tempest in her again. Just under the skin, he knew he was asking a lot from her to stay and wait. But he also knew that she would be picked out right away on a Sith world. There were things down there that she would react to.

He grabbed her hands. "Just remain open to the link, ok? I'll try to contact you when I'm down there."

"Will it even work that far?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "But I'm stronger than you telepathically. If anyone can pull it off it will be me. And we'll have a comm link but those can be picked up, so I'll leave it open but silent unless there is an emergency."

"I'll hear your end."

"Yes..."

Ri turned and stalked to the undamaged chair. "Hurry up then."

The flight down alone didn't bother Klayton so much as leaving Ri alone with whatever was coming behind them. There was a reason she had changed direction and hid the ship on the surface of the moon instead of orbiting it for a quick get-away like he wanted. She had seen someone coming upon them.

 _Who was it?_

If she had a connection to the future like she did; was it manifesting on its own? Did she control it?

And the bigger question that he hadn't asked yet because he was truly afraid of the answer: Did it want something from her, or them?

The Force manifesting itself to decide...something?

For years he had commanded it, or at least he thought he had but now he wondered.

Hitting the planet's atmosphere jolted him out of his revelry and he was forced to alter course, his keying in the adjustments in the nav center, the console lighting up as it made its altitude known.

The ship was small and light, and Klayton was grateful for its maneuverability. Although if someone took a shot at him, he wouldn't last long. Breaking through he toned down the engines to slow his descent. _Just another Sith Lord_ , he thought.

"Ri, can you hear me?" He said into the Comm. _Are you there?_

 _Yes, to both,_ she responded. _I can't believe this is working._

 _Just remember no voice over the open comm,_ he said mentally _. No matter what you hear. Just assume I know what I'm doing? Please?_

 _What am I going to hear?_

Klayton didn't respond although he could feel her consternation through the link. He marveled at the link. It seemed to be growing stronger the longer they remained together. But why? What was it for?

Lord Edigan was a different matter altogether. She definitely would have picked Ri out right away. Edigan was a flame haired beautiful woman whom his own master had grand designs on. Not that she had returned the sentiment. She was a cool, even tempered woman who had skipped right over his master and made a play at him. Klayton shuddered at the memory. She hadn't had any real feelings for him, but turning a Master against his own apprentice? That would have been amusing for her.

Klayton had avoided her at all costs.

He shuddered. That's really why he didn't want Ri to be here.

Edigan toyed with people like a cat with a mouse.

The ship landed in a small clearing. After scanning the area, he emerged into the damp air of Ikdelat. It was going to be a long walk to Peren where Edigan lived. He was already sweating.


	15. Chapter 15

Ri sat alone on Seneschal's ship. She listened through both the comm link and tried sensing what he was seeing through their link.

What she got was a confusing mix of feelings: dread, determination, and apprehension. She could hear him breathing as he made his way through town.

 _Long walk ahead,_ he'd sent earlier. Get some rest.

Get some rest? What did he think she was doing up here?

She was on edge when she glanced through the open port. The ship was shut down except for life support but through the open port windows she saw a large vessel drift up from behind the moon. The shadow crossed over their ship everything went dark.

 _Klayton, if you are getting this they're here._

Down on Ikdelat Klayton felt cold. The ship that Ri had seen had shown up. He didn't know what it meant as far as her abilities went but it was proof that they were legitimate and she was right to be afraid to return to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.  
A Jedi afraid to be a Jedi? That was the most amusing thought he'd had all day. He blocked that before any emotions went through.

He had come down and opened himself up to the Force reaching out to see if Edigan was in residence. It was like shining a spotlight on his location and while he wanted Edigan to come he wasn't sure they were ready to run into whoever was flying the Star Destroyer.

He emerged into the city from the Forest and paused. Peren was as busy as ever. It could have been a town in any republic world. Except for the slaves.

Slaves on Ikdelat wore collars with radio tags. They could not be removed by anyone other than the owner. Removal of a collar by the slave ended in brutal punishment for the slave. The collar was a trigger device, some were set for instant death, Others emitted shocks until a code was transferred to stop.

He started forward. Those with collars stepped out of his way smoothly. A few others did not but paled when they saw him. There was no mistaking who and what he was here. He wore his lightsaber openly on his belt and strode purposefully without bothering to glance at those who moved away from him.

Twenty years of living under the Sith Empire had taught him most fights were over before they started. Moving with confidence, surety could intimidate even someone larger than you. Keeping calm when confronted, helped. But Klayton knew that most of these people wouldn't mess with him.

The ones that would he could see striding towards him through the throngs. They were dressed in the Imperial black of the Sith Empire. _That was easy_ , he thought as they surrounded him.

"Looks like I caught a fly..." Edigan's voice was smooth as velvet as it came across the audience chamber. He'd been escorted to her immediately. She sat on the dais in front of him, the picture of idleness but Klayton knew better.

Edigan enjoyed toying with people. She'd spent a lot of time toying with his previous Master. He shuddered inwardly.

"Edigan," he said politely. Her red hair ran down her back in waves in stark contrast to her black body armor which did everything to show off her shape. She toyed with her light saber in her hand.

He didn't move.

"Lord Aden," she purred. "To what do I owe...the pleasure."

"I'm sure you have an idea."

"Yes, everyone in the Sith Empire knows what you are carrying, the question is...what are you going to do with her?"

He could feel Ri tense through their bond immediately.

"You sacrificed your apprentice. Why?" He responded.

She looked at him surprised. "Caridin is dead because you killed him on Dagelos, you dare to call it sacrifice? The Emperor was choosing a new set of hands...and I was finished with him. "Her eyes narrowed as she glanced at him. "You killed him."

"This Emperor Caidus not only killed them all, drained their life force...and that of an entire planet."

He let that sink in for a moment.

"According to our sources that was you...not to mention you are the one flirting with Jedi these days. Maybe you have gone mad."

"Do you know what he has done?"

"I'm not on the council of Brethren." The Council of Brethren was the Emperor's inner-circle; they ran the Empire in his name. They were his eyes and ears. She eyed him coolly. "Where is the Jedi?"

Klayton stayed silent. Edigan knew more than she was letting...and he sensed under all that bravado she was actually frightened.

"If I really killed all of those Sith Lords by myself," He started. "Then you should be terrified to face me at all."

She stayed silent, but stood up from her chair suddenly. "You dare come to my world and challenge me?"

"Do you know what he is doing?" He repeated the question to Edigan again, ignoring hers, giving her one last chance to answer. He was stronger than her, he knew. She had more experience, but his connection to the Force was much stronger.

"Does it matter," She asked, "He is the strongest of us all. He will lead us to victory over those cursed Jedi. We will no longer stay in the shadows."

"No," said Klayton his face dead pan. "He will end us all, Light, Dark, he isn't after victory but godhood."

"Bah!" Edigan waved a dismissive hand as she stood in front of her throne.

"I recognized the ritual."

"You read the legends in the great library? They are just legends. Nothing more. I ask you one last time. Where is the Jedi?" She repeated. "Lord Caidus, will reward those who serve him well. He always has."

"I'm sure he rewarded those Sith on Dagelos with eternal death," Klayton responded. "After all they gave up their lives for him."

Edigan sat idly on her throne. Her guards were well trained and never moved.

"Why did you come here, Lord Aden."

"Answers. I needed to know more about the situation here in the Empire."

"So you didn't come back to see if I still...wanted you."

"I know you never did." He smiled at her as she smiled at him in return. It was a feral smile and it made his skin crawl.

"No, I've never wanted anyone, but I am intrigued." She pulled out his light saber and studied it. "I am curious as to how this one Jedi managed to turn you from our cause. You were quite brilliant...if unambitious."

Klayton remained silent, he could feel Ri tense in the ship. Had he turned really? He didn't believe in the Jedi cause, if they could call it that. Nor did he even pretend to follow any of their tenets. What had Ri done other than get herself caught? And then spend her life time training so she could find him again. Only to get herself caught by him this time? And then she laid her life down for him to take... he should have taken it then. He caught himself before he let any of those feelings go back to Ri.

 _What's wrong?_ Not that she couldn't sense him anyway.

 _Nothing._ He shut the feelings away focusing on the woman in front of him. But the memory of Ri letting him hurt her instead of fighting back would not go away. He knew what she had done then. It had been the only way to make him see, and she had not resisted. _Actions speak louder than words do_ , he thought to himself. Focusing on Edigan who stood silently observing him. Ri had let him in, to see what she did, she had come to rescue him, not kill him and never lifted a finger against him.

She'd let him inside because she knew it was the only way. Her fragility was her strength, and he'd brutally almost shattered. And he had chosen Ri, not the Jedi or the Sith, but just Ri herself he realized. Everything that made him a Sith was still there. Although he doubted he'd be doing much Ri didn't approve of.

Was this the way to make someone like Edigan see? Show her a vision of Dagelos? What it had become? His eyes trailed involuntarily up her body to her face. Edigan stiffened as his eyes rose but waited. "Well?"

"Can I show you what we saw? Because nothing I can say will convince you..."

"I'm not letting you into my head." Edigan was well aware of his abilities then.

"What if I let you into mine?" Edigan stared at him.

I don't know if such a thing could be done," She moved towards him. "I am expecting the counsel of Brethren here. You will make a handsome gift to them, my Lord."

"I cannot allow that." He was calm. I'm sorry _Ri, I was going to try it your way._ He was already forming the shard to pierce her mental blocks before she spoke. He didn't need to fight her and very few knew how to block it once it had been thrown. He did not need his saber to use it but it helped. He focused the Force into a small spear, it wasn't visible but he knew Edigan sensed something wasn't right as her eyes widened. She stepped back suddenly and hit a button on the throne just as he hurled it towards her mind, it didn't matter if he missed his throw, it was designed to simply go towards the target no matter what. In it he'd wrapped his memory of the visit to Dagelos, how the void affected him, how it felt to be there...there was no time for anything else.

It would hurt but she would also know he wasn't lying.

In the second that he'd thrown the shard, he felt the floor drop out from underneath him and sickening lurch as gravity took over. The Shard impacted her mind and she screamed releasing his saber. He drew it back to him as he plummeted downward although he didn't quite catch it as he now had the problem of softening his downward plunge into darkness.

 _Ri stay where you are_ , he snapped into her mind. _I don't need you coming down here making this worse._

 _How can this not be worse?_ She snapped back. _Besides you don't need to worry about me feeling any guilt or pity right now. I'm pretty sure this is rage._

He hit the ground landing on his feet but the force of the fall still caused him to tumble and roll and he hit a solid rock wall that left him gasping in complete darkness. The door had closed above cutting off any source of light. His light saber was somewhere down here in the darkness. He spent a few minutes reaching out with his senses to find it.

When it returned to his hand again he activated it so he could see with his eyes and sat up enough to glance around. Everything hurt and he groaned but made it to his feet.

The smell suddenly overpowered him. The stench of something dead and rotting, his eyes water and his stomach roiled.

"Ahh," he gasped plugging his nose and trying not to gag. What had he eaten last exactly?

 _Klayton?_ Ri's thoughts shot through. _Are you all right?_

 _I'm fine._ He sent back. _Stop worrying._

 _I just heard you go through freefall and hit the ground pretty hard, I'm not going to stop worrying._

 _Ok, this bond is starting to get on my last nerve._

She shut up as he knew she would. He could feel the hurt but he didn't need her voice in his head right now. He wasn't about to ask her to come down here and help him, he didn't want Ri anywhere near Edigan.

He reached out past the light of his saber with his senses. There was something alive down here. He was certain that if he hadn't thrown that memory shard at Edigan she would definitely be enjoying some kind of show.

Klayton smirked to himself in the darkness. She would have a headache for a while, and that's just if the memories didn't kick in.

He stumbled against something in the darkness and looked down. In the red glow of his saber light was the lower half of something that could have been human, dried blood stuck to the ground. Here was the source of the smell. He stumbled away from it. It was clipped neatly in half. Only a large jaw could have bitten that poor soul in half so neatly.

He tried to remember what kind of local creatures inhabited Ikdelat and then gave up. Edigan could have had anything imported.

He reached out again with his senses, trying not to let panic set in.

 _Klayton, I'm still here_. Ri called to him firmly. It occurred to him that she could probably feel his panic. He didn't reply back.

 _There._

He couldn't see it, but he could sense it out there in the darkness. It was big, much larger than anything he'd seen on Telos. That much he could sense, but what it was exactly he couldn't figure that out.

It had not yet moved and he wondered if it had noticed him. The stench of rotting corpse probably hid his scent well enough. He thought back to the times when he'd had to fight blind folded, never really having to use that ability till possibly now.

He heard a sudden scuttling sound and realized the creature was moving. He froze.

 _Ri, I'm not sure if I'm getting out of here._

 _What's there?_

 _I don't know, but you need to get that ship out of there and away from here._

 _No! You're there...in my visions, you're always there._

 _You're the one who said they were fluid. They could change._ He almost felt her sudden intake of breath and panic.

 _Not about this._

 _Wish I had your confidence._

 _Something will happen, you'll get back here._

 _Look Ri, I-_

 _Don't you dare give up and stay there and die._ Klayton was taken back by the sharpness of her tone, and the panic that was coming with it. He didn't make a reply as the creature had risen and taken notice of him.

It didn't appear to need light to see and either hated the glow from his light saber or knew what it was and stayed away from it. He wasn't sure if this was an advantage or not. Edigan should have responded by now to his shard. He knew there was no way that she hadn't seen the memory yet. Felt the void and the wrongness that was now the ruin of Dagelos.

He heard the scratching of its bulk as it slithered across the floor, and the scrape of claws. _Sounds reptilian,_ he sent to Ri. She didn't respond this time.

He kept a hand on the wall as he moved away from it, careful to not make too much noise. If worse came to worse he could probably shock the creature to scare it. But he had no idea of its natural body armor, whether or not he could even fight it.

 _I hate fighting in the dark_. He laughed inwardly suddenly. _That's the most ironic thought I've had all day._

The scraping sounds grew closer and he knew it was tracking him. He continued to move away, it becoming more and more obvious that this was a tunnel of sorts. He was so focused on the creature moving at him that he hit a metal gate without realizing what he had run into for a moment. It was a cage door.

Klayton almost couldn't believe his luck. _I don't believe in luck,_ he muttered to himself remembering Ri's promise that something would turn up. Besides how much luck did he have if he was going to have if he had to explain to Ri that she was right.?

He stopped moving his back against the cage and began feeling down the wall for some sort of control to open the gate.

The creature moved cautiously. It swept from side to side and he imagined a long neck, perfect for darting down tunnels. He heard the teeth gnashing together. The scrape of a leathery hide against stone and claws that would easily put a hole in him.

He suddenly caught a glimpse of scales in front of him briefly as it came in and retreated. An enormous slit eye as the creature cocked its head sideways to get a look at him. It was definitely reptilian and judging by the slit in its eye, a nighttime hunter.

He heard a hiss as he sensed rather than saw the creature rear up, lightning crackled across his fingertips as he reacted and sent a bolt in its direction. The bolt lit up the room and Klayton saw that the creature that lived down here was...

 _...a Kell Dragon?_

In his surprise he dropped the lightning and stumbled backwards. The Kell dragon fled further back into the darkness. He could hear it crashing through the caves in its haste.

The crashing continued unabated and Klayton realized it wasn't the dragon he was hearing. It was bombing.

 _Klayton?_ Ri's voice slammed into his head with all her worry.

 _I'm fine for now,_ he replied. The caves shook all around him.

 _Are they bombing the city?_

 _Yes._

 _Why?_

 _How should I know?_

 _You are the one who has visions. Did you look?_

 _It doesn't work like that._

 _Have you tried?_

She didn't reply and Klayton briefly wondered if he'd hit a nerve. Then an explosion threw him completely off of his feet and he forgot Ri for a moment.

Before anything could settle the place rocked again.

 _Who is firing on us?_ He practically yelled it to Ri's mind. He didn't get a response but was too busy trying to keep his own feet to notice. The bars on the cage had popped loose and he pushed through the opening and made an attempt to follow the tunnel out.

He had to hand it to Ri. When she said something would happen, there was no messing around, it happened. He just hoped he survived.


	16. Chapter 16

Klayton burst onto Seneschal's ship in a hurry. He still wasn't getting any replies from Rí, mentally or through the commlink. It didn't take long for them to find her.

"This is her?" Edigan said, bending over Rí studying her. A telekinetic shove sent her backwards.

"Don't touch her," Klayton warned skidding to a stop in front of Rí.

Edigan put her hands up. "Wasn't going to." She kept her distance watching him warily.

Klayton knelt in front of Rí and put both of his hands on her cheeks painfully aware that he was leaving himself exposed. "Rí? Can you hear me?" Her eyes were closed and she was slumped backwards against the wall with her head falling forward on her chest. Her hair had come loose partially covering her face, he pulled the blue and brown strands away, listening to her steady breathing.

"Meditating?" Edigan guessed.

Klayton glared at her. He left Rí and went to the cockpit. He could fly the ship in a pinch but it was larger than what he was used to. Rí would have been able to do this much faster. He started keying in a sequence that would take them to Coruscant. It was going to take quite a few jumps, but the sooner they started the less of a trace any Sith pursuing them would have. He plopped himself in to Rí 's seat and fully engaged himself into the launching of the ship.

"Small ships are launching off the planet," Edigan said staring out of the viewport.

Klayton swore and felt the ship shudder as it rose off the surface. But the ships coming towards them were small and not ships designed for long space travel. In short they wouldn't be following them through any hyperspace jumps. They were scouts and not sure of what they were looking for just yet.

Seneschal's ship moved away from the moon into view and seemed to hang into space as all the ships seemed to spot it at once and changed drastic course.

It launched forwards suddenly and hyperspace blurred the stars across the screen. Klayton leaned back and sighed in relief. At least for the moment they were safe.

"Steer." He ordered Edigan coolly as he rose from the chair.

She rolled her eyes and took his place. "How do you know I won't betray you?"

Klayton glanced between Rí lying unconscious on the floor and Edigan sitting in her chair. "I'll take you apart piece by piece," he threatened. "I'm fully capable of a mind wipe, and worse. There won't be anything left."

Edigan shuddered and kept silent, watching as he scooped up the unconscious Jedi and fled the room. She wondered if he was trying to save the galaxy from the Emperor, or just the girl. It didn't matter at this point. The only thing that mattered was the Emperor had to be stopped. Klayton had been right about one thing, Edigan did care about her own hide more than anything else.

Klayton carried Rí into her room and laid her out on her bed. _Rí, where are you?_

For a moment he thought the Emperor had somehow reached her mentally but then dismissed the idea entirely. He took her hand and placed his left hand across her forehead and reached out with the Force through their bond. He could just sense her presence but not her emotions. He ran into her barrier which was normally strong, but when he pushed against it, he felt it give way.

He didn't force himself through this time, but moved slowly.

 _Rí?_

 _Klayton?_

 _Where are you?_

 _I don't know..._

 _Everything shifted and for a moment Klayton thought he was going to be sick as he found himself suddenly standing next to her on a hill. Looking out from the hill it was as if all space and time were there at her fingertips. He could see why she might feel as if she were catatonic. The scene was enough to take his breath away._

 _It was the galaxy spreading out forming, dying, being reborn again. Things he would never see otherwise. He suddenly understood why the Emperor would want such a gift under his control. Why the Jedi would want to keep her under their control._

 _And he also understood why she would hate everything about it._

 _It was too much for one person._

 _The scene shifted. This time instead of whole galaxies being born and dying, being reborn, something happened, a tide turned and everything started to wink out. The stars snuffed out first one by one, and a blackness consumed everything._

 _All will be mine...a voice carried through. Suddenly the emptiness of the void filled the vision. It was like Dagelos but on a bigger scale. There was no Force, everything had been stripped away. They both fell to the ground as their life was stripped from them._

Klayton opened his eyes, he was no longer standing next to Rí 's bed but sitting slumped in a chair laid out over her stomach. He jumped back suddenly and glanced at her. She too was awake and eyed him warily.

"What happened?

"You tell me...that was your vision."

"So you were really there...I wasn't sure..." She tried to sit up and groaned, her head ached.

Klayton pushed her back down again. "Take it slow."

"Well this is adorable." Edigan's voice came from the doorway.

Klayton's head whipped around. "What is it?"

"Sorry to interrupt. You've both been out for about an hour."

"An hour?" Klayton tried wrapping his mind around that. The vision seemed to happen so quickly.

He stood and offered Rí a hand, after a moment she sat up more slowly this time and tentatively put her feet down.

Edigan eyed her. "I hope this is worth risking my life for. You may want to come to the cockpit. We've come out of hyperspace near the border. The ship didn't continue to make another jump..."

Klayton moved towards the door and stopped. Rí ran into him from behind, surprised.

"Well go on," he said to Edigan.

The tall Sith woman grumbled and turned around.

"You don't trust her?" Rí whispered.

"Not with your life, I don't trust any Sith to not hand you over to the Emperor."

They followed Edigan to the cockpit. Their ship had stalled.

"It's just wire short circuit somewhere." Rí said. "There are fail safes in place to bring it out of hyperspace."

"Can it be fixed?" Edigan said. "I don't like being an easy target."

"You're only a target if someone knows you're there." Rí went to work scanning the system. Klayton admired her from across the room while keeping an eye on Edigan. The fire haired woman was the complete opposite of Rí in every way. She was tall and Rí was shorter barely making it to Klayton's shoulder. Then there were the differences in their circumstances.

Obviously Sith and Jedi tended to be as different as night and day.

He was still deep in thought when he realized that Edigan had spoken to him.

"I said, what will happen to me at the temple when we get there." For the first time since Klayton had met her, he noticed Edigan appeared on edge. Nervous.

He glanced at her. Her hands were screwed up into two small fists that she kept at her sides. Easy access to her light saber. "Probably nothing."

"Nothing? But they're Jedi."

"Yeah, well I had a room with a view and some fans." Klayton shrugged. He'd let her see for herself what the Jedi had become. There were a few he might respect, but the majority in his own mind were destitute. Weak. Easy prey.

"Fans?"  
"Long story." He hesitated. His gitar was laying forgotten in his room right now.

"Is there somewhere I can be dropped. I don't want to go to the Jedi Temple."

Klayton hesitated torn between being tired of keeping an eye on her and wanting to keep any potential allies close.

"You'll be fine."

"How very kind..." It was supposed to be sarcasm but it came out in a high pitched whine. Probably because of what she had seen. Edigan wasn't a loner by any means. But the vision had frightened her. Frightened her enough to make her realize that it was in her best interests to change loyalties...even if for a little while.

The vision of an entire galaxy just winking out of existence for the ambitions of one. All those lives snuffed out just because one wanted it? Every part of him hated that idea. It made a kind of sense if you were the one controlling it. But Klayton was not in control of such power, nor was he interested.

He stopped to consider his own thoughts. Just what was it he was interested in? Where was he going in all of this? Ri was so sure he was supposed to be with her.

What did it mean?


End file.
